Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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Damascus, SANA – Building a “real” tourism industry was the focal point of the discussions held Sunday during a meeting of the Supreme Council of Tourism that was chaired by Prime Minister Wael al-Halaqi.
Such an industry, the Premier said, needs to be established in cooperation with the private sector and is needed to prop up the economy and provide new job opportunities, which will in turn contribute to achieving sustainable comprehensive development.
While calling for the establishment of tourism industry, al-Halaqi clarified that several factors are demanded to achieve that end, chief among those, he said, are amending legislations, developing human resources and providing the suitable infrastructure.
No less important, he added, is the work to promote internal and popular tourism.
He noted that the discussion of the tourism situation comes within an effort which the government has recently embarked on to assess the situation of all sectors, detect points of weakness and address corruption cases so as to prepare all the national sectors for the post-crisis reconstruction stage .
Along with Tourism Minister Bishr Yazig, who presented a preview of the tourism sector and its problems, the participants cited a number of projects whose problems need to be tackled or those suspended and the possibility of having them re-operated.
Tourism projects which were targeted by the armed terrorist organizations and the possibility of rescheduling loans for late payers were a major discussion point.
The Council then adopted several decisions which would help activate the performance of the tourism sector in light of the suggestions raised during the meeting.
Manar al-Frieh/Haifa Said
