Tourism Ministry’s Major Plans to Revive Tourism Syria’s Sector and Historical Places

Syria’s tourism sector suffered significant damage during the terrorist war on Syria. However the Ministry of Tourism has exerted relentless efforts and worked out a plan to revive the tourism in the country.

The Ministry is working on accomplishing a number of projects which  aim at encouraging popular, internal and religious tourism and at carrying out distinguished tourism seasonal programs in a number of provinces through working out an investment map, constructing  public parks, rehabilitating tourist facilities and reviving old heritage places.

 Director of Tourism Planning at the Ministry of Tourism, Roula Asaad, told  SANA  that investment opportunities will  be offered in Raas Al-Basit area of Lattakia countryside .

Within the framework of  the  tourism ministry’s interest in old historical  houses  such as Abdulqader Al-Jazaeri, Al-Atasi and Al-qouatly, a study and a documentary are being carried out, according to Asaad, with the aim of offering a portion of them for investment, especially as Syria is famous for its remarkable  and famous  tourist attractions and is witnessing constant visits by Arab and foreign  tourists .

In this context, there is currently a study to rehabilitate and revive  the house of the pioneer of Arab theatre Abu Khalil al-Qabbani’s, Al-Asaad confirmed.

She indicated  that the Ministry is working to digitize the tourist map of the Syrian coast  to be a database for investors and other concerned parties. It is also preparing the map of Homs and Aleppo and setting up a database for all governorate, she said.

Director of tourism planning  stressed the map is due to be  comprehensive and will include tourist attractions and places for future investments in a way that investors can be briefed on  the investment opportunities and study their economic feasibility.

Asaad explained that the ministry currently has signed  two contracts with the General Company for Engineering Studies, the first related to planning a study for the “ Wadi  Qandil”  in Lattakia and for putting it for tourism investment, noting that the study will be ready by the end of 2020.  The second, she said, is a topographical study for the Saliba Turkmen region of Lattakia.

Concerning the tourism ministry’s cooperation with concerned parties,  Asaad pointed out that students at  the University of Damascus carry out their graduation projects around the areas that the ministry wants to study, adding that there is an agreement of cooperation  with the Ministry of Culture on the tourist paths of the castles of “Damascus ,  Aleppo, Salah al-Din and Al-Hisn” ( Krak des Chevaliers) and on rehabilitating them so that they can welcome tourists.

She made it clear  that the  Higher  Investment Council agreed on at the end of last year to construct   “Kiwan”  garden in coordination with the Damascus Governorate ,  indicating that a meeting  is due to be held with the Ministry of Water Resources  to  make use  of the surrounding of  lakes and rivers to put them in the investment plan of next season in order to encourage popular tourism.

Asaad  said that there is a project  on reviving  religious tourism aiming at reviving the tourism sector.

Rawaa Ghanam