Tourism Management: Islamic Cooperation Organisation Proposes Innovations

A project to develop Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) for Cameroon, Iran and Azerbaijan is on course. The project’s Lead Researcher, Cenk Demiroglu from Turkey is currently on a working visit to Cameroon. He met with the Minister of State, Minister of Tourism and Leisure, Bello Bouba Maigari, and other stakeholders in the country’s tourism industry on May 29 in Yaounde.

The meetings, he said, would pave the way for the implementation of the research project which is aimed at developing an efficient institutional framework for regional and local tourism development in the countries under study; countries considered to be tourism less developed among member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Turkey and Malaysia are being used as case studies for the project which is coordinated by the Permanent Committee of the Economic and Commercial Cooperation among member countries of the OIC.

According to the project, the DMOs would provide a holistic approach in planning, developing, marketing and management to coordinate and lead various stakeholders as well as integrate their efforts effectively. Cenk Demiroglu told reporters after a meeting with actors in the public and private sectors that the three countries were identified as the most in need of tourism development for socioeconomic improvement.

“They were also chosen bec...