AMMAN - Over 200 delegates from 40 countries will meet next month in Amman to discuss tourism, heritage and culture in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, event organisers said on Tuesday.
The conference will be held from April 4-7 at Al Hussein Cultural Centre in the heart of downtown Amman, said the conference co-director, Mike Robinson, who heads the organising entity, the Centre for Tourism and Cultural Change (CTCC) at Leeds Metropolitan University in the UK.
The gathering is the first international conference of its kind to take place in the region, according to Suleiman Farajat, a researcher at CTCC.
According to Farajat, the conference aims to explore the major issues facing the MENA region in connection to the development of tourism and its relationships with heritage and culture.
International scholars will draw upon theories, practices and case studies to help develop new understandings and research strategies regarding the relationship between tourism, heritage and culture in the region, he said, noting that the Amman conference will provide major networking opportunities for international scholars, policy makers and professionals.
Delegates will have an opportunity to see the new Jordan National Museum and developments in the old city of Salt, Farajat said, adding that after the event, participants will also visit Petra.
According to Robinson, tourism has tremendous potential for enhancing culture, preserving heritage and assisting in the processes of economic and social development across the MENA region.
"But we need to understand the changes and impacts it is bringing about," he added, noting that MENA has a rich and important cultural heritage - a living and evolving heritage as well as a rich history - and it is vital that tourism be used to enhance this.
"This conference will address all these issues," he noted.
"The event represents an important moment to allow reflection and discussion on the ways in which tourism is being developed across the MENA region," Robinson said, stressing the importance of examining tourism and its relationships with culture and heritage from many different perspectives.
He added: "Tourism is a phenomenon that will always be with us and so in universities, in government and in local communities, we need to better understand it and the impact it has, both positive and negative."
"Heritage and culture are not only to be found in archaeological sites, rich and diverse as they are across the region. Culture and heritage, in terms of ways of life, language, food and customs fill the streets and neighbourhoods not only of the more 'traditional' Arab cities like Damascus or Cairo but are also experienced in cities such as Amman," according to Robinson.
Amman, Robinson added, is the perfect choice for this conference as the themes being addressed are visible all around.
By Khalid Neimat
© Jordan Times 2009
