Towards Unrestricted Tourism Services Trade [Archives:2000/46/Last Page]
The ministry of Culture and Tourism hosted lately a seminar on ways of eliminating restrictions on tourism services. The seminar discussed various working papers on the subject. One of the papers was presented by Mr Fadhl Faisal from the ministry of trade and supplies, member of trade and services committee in which he had given an overview of the goals of the general agreement on services trade, such as work on expanding services trade and gradual lift of restrictions as a means of enhancing economic growth. He cited the law of investment no.22 of 1991 and how consistent it was with the general agreement on services trade. It showed the positive effects of lifting restrictions on tourism services to help flourish tourism industry in Yemen, like archaeological, desert, beach and diving aspects of tourism,etc. Foreign investors should be encouraged to invest in this sector. Some other positive effects will also be witnessed like allowing tourist companies and agencies to be established, building hotels and starting transportation companies. All of that will eventually increase the efficiency of tourism services which will definitely attract larger numbers of tourists and create new job opportunities. Foreign companies investing in this field will use domestic labor for being cheaper, meaning that domestic labor will acquire the experience of those foreign companies.
The paper reviewed all tourist projects licensed since March 1992 till September 2000. The paper discussed financial facilities awarded to all those projects, exemption from taxes on profits for seven years starting from the date of production or practicing the particular activity and exemption from taxes on profits for three years starting at the end of the first seven years of exemption if no profits were made.
The paper presented by Abduljabbar Alsulwi, general manager of tourism growth and investment pointed at the present situation of services in tourism industry in Yemen, the consequences of lifting all restrictions imposed on tourism services, lifting all restrictions on tourism services within the frame of Arab free trade zone and the strategic means to achieve an appropriate position in this field.
The paper presented by Mohammed Mohammed Mutahar, vice-chairman of the state organization for tourism, stressed the main economic principle followed by the whole world at the beginning of the third millennium, i.e. the unrestricted trade and free market.
The paper presented by the ministry of transportation discussed the effects of the ‘GATT’ on activities of transportation, like international competition, technology transfer and training, encouraging Arab bilateral and regional cooperation.
The paper also discussed recommendations for developing sea and air transport.
The paper, presented by Yahya Mohammed Abdullah Saleh, chief of the Yemeni society for tourism and travel agencies, tackled means of importing services according to the ‘GATT’ and the effects of applying that agreement. The paper showed the advantages of removing restrictions on this industry as stipulated in the ‘GATT’.
The advantages are:
– making use of the experience that foreign companies and agencies have,
– improving services quality of local agencies,
– making use of advanced supplies brought by those foreign companies.
Many other papers were also presented by Yemenia, the general union of trade and industry chambers and others.
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