Tourism Committee Meeting of ECO CCI
November 20, 2011, Karachi I R Pakistan
The Second meeting of the Tourism Committee of ECO Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was held on Sunday November 20, 2011, in Karachi, I R Pakistan hosted by Federation of Pakistan Chambers of commerce and Industry (FPCCI). The representatives of the Tourism Committee from Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Turkey, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Republic of Kazakhstan, Republic of Tajikistan, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan as well as a delegate from the ECO Secretariat participated in the meeting..
The ECO CCI Secretariat demanded the comments and proposals of the Member Countries regarding the statute of the ECO Tourism Holding Company for further processing, as well as preparation of the grounds for establishment of the offices of Islamic Countries' Health Tourism Association (ICHTA) in their respective countries in collaboration with the relevant authorities .
Pakistan offered to provide distance learning, as well as three (3) months training courses to the participants of ECO member countries, particularly Central Asian Countries.
The meeting proposed that ECO CCI shall study on the needs of the Central Asian Countries regarding tourism training in order to conduct a well-oriented tourism training program either in Turkey or Pakistan. Hence , ECO Secretariat may explore finding other sources such as Islamic Development Bank (IDB) for such training programs.
TOBB proposed drafting a concept paper on the tourism training program and reiterated its intention to hold the training program in cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank, ECO CCI Secretariat and the ECO Secretariat. The training program is scheduled to be held in April/May 2012, in Turkey.
Member Countries representatives delivered the session their opinions on the ‘Establishment of the ECO Tourism Holding Company’. It was decided that the establishment of the “ECO Tourism Holding Company” is premature at this stage.
It was decided that joint packaging / staff training / marketing initiatives be followed in shared efforts of Member Countries in the first place to provide a solution for joint operation in a strategic way so as to cooperate with each other to develop tourism industry in ECO countries.
Member chambers were called to send information on the potential tourism industry in order to promote and attract and exchanged tourist within the ECO region. This information will be published in the ECO CCI website.
It was decided that from each member country a contact person be designated for further collaborations and considerations regarding visa issues and other tourism related matters.
Regarding the “Hotels Forum” and the “Tour Operators’ Forum” it was decided that the ECO CCI will follow up the issue with the said contact persons from the Member Chambers.