By Mariam Muttawa.
London, 7 November 2013:
Today was the final day of the the World Travel Market (WTM) 2013 at London’s ExCel . . .[restrict]Centre, where the Ministry of Tourism had a Libya stand in the North Africa section.
The stand displayed photographs taken from across the country, which focused on culture and heritage, as well as images of Tripoli and a 45-minute film focusing on the tourism highlights of Libya playing on a large screen.
The stand was manned by members of the Libyan Ministry of Tourism, along with representatives from several Libyan travel-related companies. All there were ready to speak to groups and individuals enquiring about Libya’s travel prospects. Passers-by were also invited to collect the postcards and information booklets on display around the stand.
Director of the Ministry of Tourism promotion department, Zakaria Abuzed, told the Libya Herald: “There is quite a bit of interest this year and, even though it is not as much as WTM 2012, we are sure that it will be growing over the next few years.” He added that Arab and European companies had shown a strong interest in returning to the country and had taken away a lot of information.
“We have been working to give people a picture that is different from the one painted by the media that only highlights the current small failings and petty crimes,” Abuzed said, adding: “We are trying to show that day-to-day life is continuing and that laws are being created and enforced.”
The Ministry of Tourism was hopeful, Abuzed said, that the event would work towards increasing tourism prospects for Libya over the next few years. [/restrict]
