Joint Commission to develop rural tourism and MoU between the Ministries of Tourism and Environment

The Minister of Tourism, Michel Pharaon, issued last week a memorandum announcing the setting up of the Council to Develop Rural Tourism.  The Council will be presided by the Minister and the vice president will be the Director General of tourism affairs.  The Council shall include representatives of the Ministries of Interior and Municipalities, Culture, Agriculture, Environment and Information, trade unions of the tourism sector and civil society organizations, in addition to several advisors from various disciplines.  This memorandum was issued within the framework of preparations for the launching of the national five-year plan for rural tourism which will be divulged by the Minister soon. The Council is entrusted with a number of tasks notably providing general recommendations related to rural tourism such as monitoring, studying the internal and external factors influencing the sector, providing suggestions to strengthen rural tourism, developing a legal framework including tax wavering and other incentives as well as coordinating with other related private and public sector entities involved in this sector.
Within a related vein, the Minister of Tourism signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Minister of Environment, Mohammad Mashnouk, aiming at strengthening eco-tourism through promoting natural reserves as well as preserving the environment through collaboration with tourism companies and also raising environmental awareness.  The MoU notes that each of the two Ministers will designate a representative who will be assigned with the implementation of the MoU.  A bilateral meeting is stipulated once a year or whenever the need arises in order to discuss any matter related to the agreement.

Source: Al-Safir, Al-Akhbar, Al-Mustaqbal 22 September, Al-Diyar 23 September 2014