DAMASCUS, July 7: Syria is launching its first tourism and shopping month in a bid to attract Arab visitors from the Gulf, following in the footsteps of other countries in the region in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

Tourism Minister Saadallah Agha al-Qalaa said cultural and sporting events were also planned in connection with the festival starting August 10 to promote “family” Arab tourism.

Syria is following Lebanon, Jordan and Iran in trying to woo wealthy visitors from the Gulf who are said to be shunning the United States and other countries because of bureaucratic obstacles and a cooler welcome since September 11.

Such tourists, who have no need of visas to visit Syria and other Arab countries, have swelled this year, Agha al-Qalaa said, with 35,000 last week alone entering via Jordan. In June nearly 135,000 Arab visitors came to Syria, against 110,000 in June last year. In the first four months of this year the number of Arab tourists rose 34 percent over the same period of 2001, while European visitors saw a 15 percent decline.

The minister acknowledged however that Syria has to “improve services, work towards greater competivity, modernise infrastructure and boost transportation. We need qualified personnel” to accompany a planned increase in hotel beds from 36,000 to 170,000 over the next 15 years, he said.

He also stressed the need for promotional campaigns, for which Syria allocated just 800,000 dollars last year, compared with between eight million and 30 million in neighbouring countries. Agha al-Qalaa said Syria also wanted to increase the number of European visitors from less than 300,000 to one million per year.—AFP