Encouraging tourism to Al-Quds Al-Sharif (Jerusalem) would support the Holy City, empower its people, and convey their sufferings and demands to the Muslim World in particular and to the international community in general, said OIC Secretary General Iyad Ameen Madani in a speech delivered on his behalf by Ambassador Hameed A. Opeloyeru, Assistant Secretary General for Economic Affairs, at a workshop entitled “Exploring Tourism Potential of Al-Quds Al-Sharif City” on 24-25 November 2015 in Istanbul, Turkey.
The OIC Secretary General also stressed that Al-Quds should be visited through Jordan, in conjunction with Palestinian and Jordanian tour operators and travel agencies.
The two-day event has been organised by the “Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries” (SESRIC) in collaboration with Palestine’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to allow participants to exchange views, knowledge and expertise to determine ways for tapping into the potential of Al-Quds’ tourism and formulate recommendations to be presented at the 9th Session of the Islamic Conference of Tourism Ministers (ICTM) to be held in Niger on 21-23 December 2015.
Speeches were also delivered at the opening of the event by Ambassador Faed Mustafa, Ambassador of the State of Palestine in Turkey; Vehbi Dinçerler, Turkey’s Special Coordinator for Palestine and Former Minister of National Education; Nayef Al-Fayez, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities of Jordan; and Professor Mehmet Görmez, President of Religious Affairs of Turkey. Approximately 200 representatives from 30 countries, including governments, tourism operators, heritage organisations, transport companies and other private sector entities, attended the workshop.
Speakers also called on Muslims across the world to visit Al-Quds in line with the International Islamic Fiqh Academy’s fatwa earlier this year on the permissibility of visiting the city as a way of highlighting the cause and showing solidarity with the people of Palestine. The workshop consisted of four discussion sessions on tourism and heritage preservation in the city of Al-Quds.
Agencies
