Tourism Planning And Development In The Middle East

"Addresses tourism development and planning in the Middle East from a sustainability perspective, embracing case studies and examples from the region. Considers economic, socio-cultural, environmental and regulatory perspectives"--

Given the historical and cultural richness of countries in the Middle East region, as well as the economic development many have exhibited in recent years, tourism planning and development gains much significance for both scholars and practitioners. Turbulence, conflicts and crises exhibited in the area add further dimensions that need to be incorporated in tourism strategies and planning, and be taken into consideration by experts at an institutional, corporate and educational level. Furthermore, in order to effectively deal with aspects of sustainability, visions and strategies in the region need to build upon good practices. As a result, a greater understanding is required of the factors influencing decision-making on tourism matters as well as on the impacts and implications of sustainable tourism development. This book is an essential resource for tourism practitioners, decision-makers in private and public organisations, government bodies and consultants, not only from the Middle East, but for all those who want an encompassing view of global tourism.

Urban planners and conservationists in historic cities around the world grapple with the competing interests of conservation, urban design, and economic and social development. This book offers an interdisciplinary approach to the key relationships between heritage conservation, city space design, and tourism development in historic cities, linking theory and practice in a unique way. The book offers an investigation of three Middle Eastern historic cities, Aleppo, Acre and Salt, all of which face significant challenges of heritage conservation, adaptation to contemporary needs, and tourism development. It presents practical scenarios for the conservation and design of historic urban spaces and the development of sustainable tourism, from the perspective of planners, local communities and international tourists. The author offers a comparative approach which transcends political strife and provides valuable lessons for the other cities inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, especially those in developing countries.

'Tourism in the Middle East' embodies a multi-discursive approach to the study of tourism in the region, offering not only different perspectives but qualifying local knowledge and realities.

For many decades, Western European countries have undertaken diverse pathways in tourism development and planning. Most have experienced fast or even unlimited growth, resulting in overtourism and, now, the introduction of policies that respect the limits of communities and the sustainability of their resources. Focusing exclusively on tourism development, planning and policy, this book draws together new voices to discuss issues across Belgium, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK. An invaluable collection for policy-makers, researchers and academics, this book is also an insightful source of engaging contemporary case studies for use in the classroom.

This is the first book to provide a comprehensive account of cultural and heritage tourism in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the many complexities that heritage sites and tourist attractions face. The MENA region has long been regarded as the cradle of Western and Arab civilisation and is the home of many of the world’s major religions. Because of this, the region is rich in heritage sites that serve as major tourist attractions and as icons of national, cultural and religious identity. However, as this book examines, heritage in the region is simultaneously highly contested and has even become a target for terrorism creating a situation that brought major challenges for heritage management and sustainable tourism development. Many of the region’s innumerable cultural sites are threatened, in some cases by overuse, in others by neglect and, in many, simply by the pressures of economic development. This book is therefore of interest not only to heritage managers and policy makers but those academics who seek to address the delicate balance between tourism development, communities and the tourists who visit such sites in a turbulent but highly significant region of the world.

This book is the first to explore Arabic tourism from a business viewpoint, rather than taking a sociological, anthropological or political stance. It focuses on business planning, management and marketing destinations in the Arab World, which are topics crucial for industry stakeholders and which have previously been neglected in the tourism literature. The book examines similarities and differences in the emergence and development of the tourism industry in countries across the Arab world as well as its inbound and outbound travel flows. It analyses several different aspects of Arabic tourism including tourism policy, organisation and planning, tourism product development, destination marketing and consumer behaviour. This volume will be of interest to postgraduate students and researchers of tourism studies, business and Middle Eastern studies.