CC BY
16
UDC 332.142.4
Samira Yaser Shomul master's student Faculty of Tourism Damascus University Syria, Damascus
ANALYZING THE REALITY OF THE TOURISM SECTOR IN SYRIA
BETWEEN BEFORE AND DURING THE CRISIS (2011-2018)
Abstract: The concepts of political problems and the crisis appear to be inconsequential to the tourism industry, however a nearby assessment and examination of the meeting points and the impact on tourism reveals otherwise. The tourism sector in Syria of late confronted numerous challenges and difficulties during the crisis that ultimately led to the sector's deterioration due to terrorist acts. This research deals with an analysis of the reality of the tourism sector during the years of the crisis (2011-2018) and a comparison between this reality and the reality of the sector before the crisis. Research topics that arise from the available studies include the effects of crises and political instability on tourism demand, in addition to studying the impact of using tourism as a political tool, and the effects of political violence on tourist destinations. As well as discuss the administration's efforts to revitalize the affected tourist destinations. This research seeks to establish what is known about the relationship between crises and tourism, in addition to discussing terrorism as a tourism crisis. On the other hand, highlighting the characteristics of the tourism environment and the role of terrorism in reducing the benefits and gains that can be gained from the tourism industry, in addition to submitting proposals to manage the demand for tourist destinations during tourism crises.
Keywords: terrorism, political instability, Syrian crisis, international tourism, crisis management.
Introduction: After tourism has grown and the impact of the tourism sector has increased in the Syrian service economy, and after the rates of supply and demand and the contribution to the development of services and the national economy
from 2003 to 2010 reached high levels [5, 6], the repercussions of the crisis began to affect the components of the Syrian economy, so that the tourism sector is the first sector affected by the crisis in a way. Direct, and for the return of this sector's activity to remain directly and chiefly dependent on the return of the security and safety factor, and the possibility of the return of investment in Syria. However, there are still many important questions that have not been answered enough, for example: How does the administration of the tourism sector manage the crisis of terrorism or political conflict? , What was the reality of the tourism sector in Syria
before the crisis, and how did this reality become after eight years of the crisis? What is the impact of the Syrian crisis on investment in the tourism sector, and on governmental spending on this sector? What is the impact of the crisis on the tourist facilities?
The effect of warfare on the vacationer environment. The interest of researchers and analysts in the components or elements of that environment has prompted the rise of the idea of frameworks where the travel industry association could be viewed as a framework whose assets are gotten from contributions from the general environment , to give them then again as yields as the travel industry and inn administrations. There may likewise be open doors for the association to acquire from the environment in which it works and the dangers or imperatives it might confront. This requires the requirement for pre-administration preparation and the advancement of fitting administration procedures and arrangements to manage them [1]. The tourism industry environment is affected by various ecological elements, for example, the serious climate, the economic climate, the world of politics, the regular habitat and the natural environment, the mechanical and technological environment, the examination of chances and dangers (analysis of opportunities and threats), and the social and cultural environment [3].
SWOT analysis of the tourism sector [4]:
■ Analysis of the internal environment:
- Strength point :
• The rich and distinctive natural assets (geographical location, climate, rivers, lakes and desert, caves, nature reserves), which still characterize Syria despite the effects of the crisis on many of these areas.
• The human components and the great spread of Syrian folklore (singing and music).
• The rich and varied archaeological assets (castles, ancient cities, and religious shrines....).
• The great diversity in the products of traditional crafts and ancient industries.
• The regionally distinguished Syrian cuisine is a good attraction at the international level [5].
• The presence of many hotels with different levels covering a large area of Syria, in addition to restaurants and other tourism services, which are still able to cover all areas despite the damage that afflicted many establishments during the crisis [2].
• Adequate infrastructure from the road network, three airports (after the return of Aleppo airport), and ports that help attract tourism investment [5].
• Presence of public and private airlines, and many public and private
banks.
• Graduating acceptable numbers from private tourist centers, hotels, and institutes of the Ministry to work in Tourist establishments [6].
• The spread of some free services for tourism, information centers and tourist police headquarters in most of Tourist areas.
• The conclusion of agreements and memoranda of understanding with a number of Arab and foreign countries and with some concerned parties in the sector, in addition to the agreements concluded before the crisis, according to which work was not canceled during the crisis [5].
• The existence of an acceptable level of standards regulating qualification, classification, licenses and tourism services (and they have been constantly amended to fit international standards, despite the crisis and its effects on the tourism sector).
• Simplifying the procedures followed to obtain a tourist building permit, which leads to encouraging tourism investment and accelerating work rates to shorten time and reduce the number of required documents [4].
Weaknesses Points:
The tourism sector in general in Syria suffers from weaknesses that extended before the crisis and exacerbated during the crisis, which were mainly:
• Weak domestic tourism as a result of high costs, especially accommodation costs compared to neighboring countries, which are mainly due to the low average per capita income in Syria. This problem has exacerbated during the crisis despite the constant attempts to provide a tourist product suitable for domestic tourism that the Ministry of Tourism has made over the years of the crisis [5].
• The low rate of tourism spending by Arab and foreign tourists in Syria, compared to neighboring countries due to poor services that meet the desires of tourists, in addition to the lack of basic services in tourist sites, especially archaeological ones. This point continued during the crisis and worsened, especially with regard to religious tourism areas (which It turned out to be the main and only tourism product during the crisis period) [6].
• Most of the tourism projects are concentrated in the major and main governorates as a result of the lack of resources and services needed to establish investment projects in promising tourist areas, especially the coastal and central areas [5].
• The previous focus of the promotion and marketing policies on the Western European markets and the neglect of the BRICS countries' markets, the effects of which were evident during the crisis period by the sharp decline in the number of tourists and the inability to compensate this number from other markets, especially the markets of friendly countries [5].
• Weakness in the content of promotional materials with regard to data, information on visa facilities and travel procedures, addresses of suppliers and producers of tourist trips, especially during the nation's period where we have
witnessed major changes and constant instructions and circulars that led to a loss of information for the tourist.
• Weakness in the participation of tourist NGOs, the local community and the private sector in promoting tourism [8].
• The absence of mechanisms to observe the customs and traditions of the visitor's behavior while in the country and the preservation of the environment, in addition to the absence of directives about military sites or points of contact and engagement, which made tourists lose a sense of security during the nation's period, even in somewhat recovering areas.
• Weakness in marketing products, crafts and traditional industries.
• Poor performance of tourism and travel offices in terms of organizing, promoting and marketing tourist trips internally and externally.
• The poor level of tourism services in the archaeological and religious sites and museums [5].
• Weakness in the technical and specialized professional level of graduates of tourism hotel schools and institutes, and in the level of training courses held, compared to the international level, especially a, there are many points in the tourism service that is an international language that must be mastered by the tourism service provider [7].
• Weakness in identifying priorities and obstacles to tourism development, and delays in issuing land acquisition plans.
• Delay in setting standards and standards for food, beverages and handicrafts.
• Delay in the completion of the electronic tourism geographic information system GIS.
• The absence of mechanisms that maintain the security of tourists and tourist health, the absence of entertainment and entertainment games, electronic reservation services, and mechanisms for accepting credit cards.
• The multiplicity of the supervisory authorities over the work of the tourism facilities, which results in duplication of the measures taken.
• Pollution of beach, rivers and lakes waters, which negatively affects tourism.
• Tampering and encroachment on archaeological sites by the local population, as a result of the lack of cultural, archaeological and tourist awareness, which increased dramatically during the crisis period, exposing many sites to systematic looting and destruction.
• Poaching, cutting and burning forests and natural reserves [6].
• Encroachment on the lands of the property of the Ministry, especially the coastal strip.
• The large and indiscriminate spread of unclassified furnished apartments in tourist areas, which increased during the crisis period.
• Central in preparing and implementing the Ministry's plans and promotional activities, and the weak participation of the relevant authorities in the tourism sector in their preparation [5].
■ Internal environment analysis:
- Opportunities [4]:
• The return of stability, security and safety to all parts of the country.
• The presence of a large number of countries that have a positive image of Syria that helps to re-attract tourists from it.
• The international reputation of the name Syria (even in a negative form), which can be transformed into an opportunity by using sound scientific and promotional means.
• Encouraging religious tourism and giving it importance as a continuous tourism resource, taking advantage of the continuation of religious tourism despite the security conditions the country is going through.
• Enhancing the role of the private sector and the local community in developing and activating the tourism sector, and making use of the private sector to invest in hotel and tourism training and rehabilitation [5].
• The possibility of the return of global and international tourism management companies to manage tourism facilities owned by the private and public sectors.
• The cooperation of the concerned authorities in facilitating and simplifying the procedures for tourism investment through the creation of a single window.
• Expanding the tasks of the Syrian Company for Tourism as a developer in the tourism development areas [5].
• Take advantage of Syria's geographical location to link common and integrated tourist routes with some neighboring countries.
• Improving the participatory environment for the tourism sector through the cooperation of all parties related to the tourism sector and activating the principle of effective participation in the decision and implementation regarding the promotion of the tourism product (Cultural, environmental, religious ....).
- Threats and challenges:
• Fear of tourists and their reluctance to come to Syria as a result of the current situation.
• The disappearance of all tourist and archaeological sites and the inability to recover many of the archaeological collections that were lost in the crisis.
• The absence of real estate plans certified by the Ministry of Tourism, explaining on them in a detailed and accurate way the places (roadblocks, military zones, places of prevention of construction) and the most suitable areas for establishing investment projects.
• The Ministry's stop to participation in the activities, conferences and seminars of both Arab and foreign organizations, including the Arab Ministerial Council for Tourism, the World Tourism Organization, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation has been suspended, which led to the failure to benefit from the financial and in-kind assistance provided by these organizations to finance tourism projects. It only participates in tourism activities, seminars and conferences organized by UNESCO.
• Suspending cooperation with a number of foreign agencies, including the French Development Agency, the European Commission, the United Nations Development Program, the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation, and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, which provides assistance to the ministry in several areas.
• Large numbers of tourist establishments are out of service due to damage, financial or operational reasons, or because they are located in unsafe areas. More than 500 public and private tourist establishments have been damaged. Full or partial [2] [8].
• Delayed departure of stalled projects belonging to the private sector and B.O.T [5].
• The lack of necessary funding for the reconstruction of public and private sector facilities and tourist buildings.
• The absence of international management companies for hotel establishments in the country.
• The multiplicity of agencies involved in issuing tourism licenses, which exceed 15 entities and ministries [5].
• The multiplicity of agencies responsible for managing the tourism product (cultural tourism, ecotourism, religious tourism, river tourism, beach tourism, and cave tourism).
• The delayed issuance of the land use plan and regional planning plans, which affects the tourism planning for the development of tourism projects.
• The emigration of large numbers of hotel and professional tourism cadres with high experience abroad and a general weakness in the professional level of available labor and the instability of their situation.
• Some educational and training institutions have been out of service (Deir Ezzor Institute - Deir Ezzor High School - Raqqa High School - Idlib High School - Palmyra High School) and the major sabotage that many tourist educational institutions have been subjected to (Aleppo Institute - Aleppo High School - Homs High School - Hasaka High School - Daraa High School) [6].
Results of the previous analysis and study:
Comparison in terms of: Before the crisis During the crisis
Touristic product The tourism product varied to include (cultural, entertainment, therapeutic, religious, environmental, adventure and safari, gastronomic ...). The limitation of the tourism product, as a result of the crisis, to (mainly religious).
Tourism sector inputs The inputs of the tourism sector at this stage were integrated, in terms of the requirements for establishing a tourism activity, despite its need for development, especially with regard to infrastructure, in order to provide a more mature tourism product for tourists, and to allow the sector to make the most of the tourism spending. The inputs of the tourism sector have been affected greatly at this stage, especially with regard to the infrastructure that qualifies for the establishment of a tourism activity, in addition to the safety factor that is the basis for the tourism activity, the infrastructure has been subjected to systematic destruction of a method that weakened the capacity of the Syrian tourism product and tended in some stages to a complete disruption of tourism activity.
Tourism environment The tourism environment at this stage was tending to be more stimulating and encouraging tourism investment, and significant and remarkable facilities were provided that led to a period of great prosperity for the tourism sector. Including Syria on the global tourism map and greatly increasing the demand for the Syrian tourism product. Government interest in tourism decreased during this stage, as a result of the decrease in the contribution of tourism to the domestic product due to the effects of the crisis and insecurity on the Syrian tourism product, and despite several measures taken to reduce the effects of the crisis on the tourism sector, the lack of data and the absence of managing the tourism crisis scientifically led to a decline followed a very slow start of recovery during the studied phase.
Numbers of arrivals The number of arrivals increased as a result of the previous points, and the increasing interest in the tourism sector nearly doubled between the beginning of the study in 2003 and until 2010, just before the crisis. The decline in the numbers of arrivals in large proportions is closer to collapse, due to the effects of the crisis, in addition to the impact caused by what we talked about in the previous point in terms of weakness in the tourism crisis management experience, which led to the marginalization of the tourism sector, and that the great delay in numbers and statistics was a major cause of inability To plan in light of clear and instantaneous data.
Strategies adopted at the total level (Ministry plan)
The strategies followed at this stage started from all the previous points, to work on developing a tourism product and tourism paths that fit the new trends of the tourism demand, and highlight the privacy of Syria and the diversity of its resources, and this strategy was based on accurate information about the trends of the tourism market, the behavior of tourists and tourist destinations, and taking advantage of all opportunities In order to achieve the above, the strategy worked to secure an appropriate and attractive investment climate for tourism investments, to rehabilitate tourist attractions to suit both internal and external tourism, and a move was also directed to raise the level of tourism cadres by paying attention to tourism training and rehabilitation, and many other points, all of which contribute to the realization of the tourism plan. Scientific, studied and based on the availability of a robust and updated information structure in a continuous form commensurate with the information structure in that period.
The strategies followed during this period (despite its positiveness, awareness of the importance of tourism as an important and basic component of the Syrian economy, and its continuation of the approach that was followed before the crisis) were characterized as reactive strategies, so that the crisis has left clear effects on the tourism sector, And it led to its great retreat, and the departure of Syria from the global tourism map, and the management of the tourism sector during this period and despite its positive decisions that it tried to keep pace with these changes, lacked a plan for managing the crisis in a scientific way based on the literature on this topic, and on the experiences of countries that have gone through circumstances. Similar, and the main reason for the absence of this plan and being satisfied with the strategy of decisions taken in response to the effects of the crisis is the absence of accurate data related to the tourism sector, the delay in receiving these numbers to the ministry, and the delay in the ministry's implementation of the required statistics, to be in its best annual terms, which led to the inability to build A scientific plan based on accurate information and data that, if available, would have avoided many of the effects of the crisis on the tourism sector as a whole. It has tourist markets and new types of tourism, faster than what happened during this period already.
References:
1. Hilal, Mohamed Abdel-Ghani Hassan, Skills of Crisis Management - The Crisis between Prevention and Control, Cairo, 2001. P.26.
2. ICROM, Preservation of Cultural Heritage in the Arab Region "In Issues of Preservation and Management of Heritage Sites." 1st floor, Sharjah, 2016.
3. Research, Documentation and Publishing Secretariat, Crisis Management from an Administrative Perspective, Sudan: The Higher Institute for Zakat Sciences, 2004. P.12.
4. Pearson. C. M. and Clair, J. A, Reframing Crisis Management; Academy of Management
Review, 1998. P.11.
5. Interviews in the Syrian Ministry of Tourism, the Minister of Tourism, and the assistants of the Minister of Tourism, the Directorate of Planning and International Cooperation, the Legal Affairs Directorate, the Tourism Control and Quality Directorate, the Tourism Promotion Directorate, the General Authority for Tourism and Hotel Training, the Tourism Facilities Directorate, 2018-2019.
6. Syria, Syrian Statistical Group for the years 2003 - 2018, Central Bureau of Statistics.
7. The book of conditions for preparing the national electronic transactions system, published on the Ministry of Communications and Technology website.
8. WTO World Trade Organization. (1999). Impacts of the Financial Crisis on Asia's Tourism Sector. Madrid
