Page 26 - Shj Tourism Annual Report 2019 English

26 Domestic Promotion: Domestic tourism enjoys a prestigious status in the UAE, which forms a distinctive mosaic of UAE nationals and residents. It plays a vital role in the accelerated development and steady growth of the tourism sector. The daily posts shared by citizens and nationals about their wonderful tourism experiences in Sharjah in particular and the UAE in general are the cornerstone of the comprehensive promotion of the emirate’s natural, heritage and cultural tourism sites. To ensure the development of the tourism identity and embody an illustrious image of the tourism sector in Sharjah, the SCTDA allocates all of its resources and capabilities to create active and effective communication channels with tourists and visitors. This is done through distributing informative and promotional materials across tourism sites and destinations in major hotels and shopping malls across the emirate. The SCTDA organized a total of 52 promotional tours in 2019 compared with 44 tours in 2018. The total number of participants reached 1,282. The SCTDA maintains important connections and is an effective communication tool between delegations and guests of the strategic events organized and hosted by Sharjah such as the Sharjah Light Festival and the Sharjah World Championship Week. It also supports many other events including Sharjah Heritage Days, Sharjah Summer Festival and many more. The SCTDA welcomes the emirate’s visitors by implementing some delightful initiatives such as allocating a team dedicated to receiving invited guests and greeting them with a warm welcome at Sharjah International Airport. They also arrange entry tickets and residence requirements and provide comfortable and practical means of transportation for visitors to make sure that they receive a wonderful and unique experience in Sharjah. Internally, the SCTDA spares no effort to enforce partnerships with various local parties to ensure the development of an economic system that enables everyone to work seamlessly towards achieving the Sharjah Tourism Vision 2021. Such regulatory efforts yield local activities and events characterized by careful planning which leads to ultimate success: - Active participation in promotional events and tours across the emirate. - Communicating with relevant authorities to ensure that visitors and guests receive a unique experience. - Communicating with local and international media outlets and inviting them to visit Sharjah and experience its tourism destinations. - Providing promotional materials about Sharjah through educational and promotional publications. The SCTDA organized a total of 3993 activities, events Chapter 2: Performance Indicators