UK tourism set to triple by 2009

Yemen’s profile on the rise:

Yemen’s profile at the London’s World Travel Market, the leading tourism trade fair in the British Isles, was on the rise this year. There are six tour operators already offering trips to Yemen, and another twenty companies are planning programs for 2009. To facilitate this process, Yemeni operators will be hosting a series of study tours in January and February of next year. European tour operators from new markets in Scandinavia and Central and Eastern Europe are also keen to develop travel itineraries for Yemen. Unlike travelers from the UK, visitors from these new countries are not restricted by their government’s official travel advisories. Director of the British-Yemeni Society’s tourism program Alan D’Arcy has described his government’s travel advisories to the country as “overcautious”.  

However such advice is becoming less of an issue for experienced British tour operators and seasoned travelers.  Yemen’s UK representative Dunira Strategy, a tourism consultancy firm which among other things does PR work for countries in Africa and the Middle East, has negotiated special insurance coverage with one of the UK’s top travel insurers designed for clients of British and Irish companies willing to travel to destinations carrying a Foreign Office travel advisory. According to Dunira’s managing director Benjamin Carey, “I personally agree with the Foreign Office that visitors should steer clear of places like Marib and Saada, but advising against ‘all but essential travel to Sana’a’ undermines its credibility.  I was there last month and several friends are there at the moment.  They tell me that the scenery is as sensational as ever and the legendary hospitality remains real!”

Yemen’s Minister of Tourism, His Excellency Nabil Al-Faqih was delighted with the response from British tour operators and journalists, and looks forward to seeing many more British visitors enjoy the tremendous climate and enduring hospitality of Yemen, known to the Romans as Arabia Felix.

Yemen’s Tourism Promotion Board is the executive agency of Yemen’s Ministry of Tourism, and has appointed Dunira Strategy as its representative in the UK and Ireland. YTPB also has representatives in France, Germany, Italy and Spain.  In 2007, Yemen received 379,390 visitors, primarily from the Middle East; its main European markets are the UK, Germany, France and Italy.  Journalists wishing to arrange press trips and tour operators from the UK and Ireland interested in arranging study tours can contact Dunira.

Tour operators were interested in a number of opportunities, typically involving 10 or 11 night itineraries including 2 or 3 nights in the extraordinary Old City of Sana’a, which is home to more than 6,000 houses dating from before the 11th century. This will usually be followed by visits to two or three other gateway destinations, such as Aden, which is full of British colonial history, Shibam, the ‘Manhattan of the Desert’ with its 16th Century mud-brick skyscrapers that literally rise out of the sand, and Zabid- an archaeologist’s paradise.

Alternative or add-on options would include 7 nights on Socotra, Yemen’s fourth and most recent UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is known as the ‘Galapagos of the Indian Ocean’, or diving at sites along the mainland or on one of the country’s more than 200 islands.  According to Dunira’s program director and divemaster Christopher Imbsen; “Diving in Yemen presents a range of opportunities for adventurous dive operators wanting to expand their operations.  Not only are there many islands, both explored and unexplored in the Red Sea, but there is also the near mythical destination of Socotra in the Gulf of Aden. All the dive sites enjoy a plethora of tropical marine life and, with so few other visitors; you won’t have anyone else’s fins in your face in these waters!”

Another opportunity is language study at one of Yemen’s leading institutes, since Yemeni Arabic is widely considered the purest and most beautiful in the world.  Tim Mackintosh-Smith, author of Yemen: Travels in Dictionary Land commented that when learning Arabic in the 1990’s he had to persuade his own tutor of the merits of Yemen. “Yemen is the best place on Earth for learning Arabic, especially in such a fascinating and inspiring setting as Sana’a.”  Arabic students who are fans of Paul Torday’s fantastic “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen” will be pleased to know that they will be able to practice their language skills by reading Abdulaziz al-Maqalih’s magnificent translation, which was launched at the Sana’a Book Fair this October.

The YTPB’s UK representative Benjamin Carey, who visited the country in October added: “To see so few tourists in such an incredibly beautiful, welcoming and unique country was surprising.  I felt entirely safe and am convinced that Yemen has what it takes to be a leading tourism destination in the future.  There is now a real chance to support the growth of tourism in Yemen as a tool of economic development and encourage British visitors to contribute to Yemen’s development by going to enjoy Yemen’s magnificent cultural and natural heritage.”

Dunira is organizing a program of press trips and study tours and can support UK and Irish operators by arranging specially discounted rates, and can extend release periods on flights from the UK with Yemenia, enhanced baggage allowances on domestic flights in Yemen with Felix Airways and specialist insurance products for tour operators.

Yemen has retained its identity in the face of globalization and with an incredible range of cultural and natural treasures this unique destination offers an exceptionally diverse holiday for the discerning, responsible traveler.  

Inaugurated in 1993, the British-Yemeni Society was established as a charitable membership organization to promote friendship and understanding between the peoples of the two countries and to advance public knowledge in Britain about the Republic of Yemen, its history, geography, economy and culture.  The Society holds regular meetings and cultural events and organizes tours of the country.  Its Joint Presidents are Their Excellencies Mohamad Taha Mustafa, Yemen Ambassador in London, and Tim Torlot, H M Ambassador to Yemen.  

Related Content

•  WB supports NGOs fight against QaT use among youth
•  YEMEN THROUGH AN AMERICAN’S LENS
•  Sa’dah war’s flagrant abuse to childrens’ rights (part 2)
•  Yemen returns 195 tons of illegal pesticides to their countries of origin
•  Child labor in Yemen...outlaw phenomenon
•  Sa’dah war, flagrant abuse of childrens’ rights Part (1)
•  Prominent hospital in al-Hodaidah shuts down
•  Socotra’s Belated Buzzard – The World’s Newest Bird
•  Thousands victims of Tourism Marriage in Thamar Governorate
•  To boost democracy students councils project launched