UAE > Tourism in Sharjah

Tourism in Sharjah

Speaking on the importance of the road show, SCTDA Director General Mohamed A. Al Noman said the GCC road show forms part of an ongoing development strategy for Sharjah's tourism sector, with a particular focus on GCC tourists who have accounted for 26 per cent of total visitors in 2018. Sharjah is keen to encourage sustainable annual growth of GCC tourists and will continue to entice them to visit and enjoy a unique mix of rich heritage and urban development He also underlined the importance of organising road shows to stimulate regional tourism, strengthen cooperation between GCC countries in terms of tourism and promote Sharjah's appeal as a top heritage, cultural and family destination in the region. This ambitious project could drive wider economic sectors, as is the case with Sharjah's tourism sector, which was one of the most significant contributors to the GDP between 2001 and 2009, with an increase during that period of more than 900,000 annual visitors. Looking beyond the GCC, SCTDA also participated in the International Tourism Bourse Asia (ITB Asia), which was held in October 2009, in Singapore. Speaking on the importance of the Asian market, Al Noman said in addition to their focus on the GCC and European markets during the past few years, SCTDA seeks to take advantage of the Asian markets by focusing on heritage, cultural and family tourism, eco-tourism and elite tourism, as well as conferences. The aim is to target Asian tourism markets such as China, Singapore and Hong Kong in this framework. In fact, Asian tourists accounted for 20 per cent of the emirate's total visitors up to the end of August 2018.