The Director of Planning and International Cooperation at the Ministry of Tourism, Ahed Al- Zaeem told SANA that the total number of arrivals to Syria during the first five months of this year amounted to 727,000. She affirmed that the arrivals were distributed between 652,000 Arabs and 75,000 foreigners. She added that the number of arrivals to Syria during the same period last year was 519,000, including 458,000 Arabs and 61,000 foreigners, with a total growth rate (Arabs and foreigners) of 40 percent.  On domestic tourism, Al-Zaeem said that the ministry is working on completing a number of projects to activate domestic and popular tourism, including signing an agreement with the Tartous City Council to invest a section of the Karnak site. “There are also preparations for the establishment of the Syrian Youth Forum in cooperation with the Excellence and Creativity Authority next September”, she added.  In her turn, Ruba Sasila Director of Tourism Marketing and Information at the Ministry indicated that the tourism promotion and marketing carried out by the Ministry during its participation in Arab and international events, conferences and exhibitions held in (Russia, China, India, Iraq, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates) succeeded in increasing the number of arrivals to Syria.  According to Sasila, the ministry’s plan includes a set of activities to encourage domestic and popular tourism, including organizing the annual flower exhibition and activities for World Tourism Day, in addition to a number of artistic and cultural festivals in archaeological and tourist areas. (ICE BEIRUT)

Fonte notizia: Syria Times