30 Oct 2010 / 16:25
King Abdullah II of Jordan’s tourism advisor has urged Kosovo to look to the Muslim world for opportunities to attract visitors.
King Abdullah II of Jordan’s tourism advisor has urged Kosovo to look to the Muslim world for opportunities to attract visitors.
Lawrence Marzouk
His Excellency Agel Biltaji, who is credited with transforming tourism in Jordan, made the comments at the opening of the American Tourism Society’s conference in Kosovo this week.
The ATS, an influential grouping of tour operators, is visiting Kosovo to look for tourism opportunities in the world’s youngest country. Biltaji told an audience of ATS members and Kosovo-based tourism operators that Kosovo should look to its neighbours, Turkey and the Arab world for potential visitors to the country.
“What is wrong with looking to your next door neighbours first?” he said. “You should look to the Muslim world. The silent majority of Muslims in the Arab world would like to be like Kosovo.” He added the historic ties with Turkey should also be exploited.
“Turkey is becoming bigger and stronger,” he said. “Turkish Airlines is the fourth largest carrier in Europe. “Turkey is already engaged and interested. You should align yourself with those who are already here.”
The ATS group will visit sites in Pristina, Peja and Prizren, before travelling to Tirana, Albania in their week-long visit to the region. Mr Biltaji told Kosovo tourism bosses that they must first carry out an inventory of their assets before tackling issues such as infrastructure, which need improving.
But he added that he was confident Kosovo would overcome its current difficulties. “I have felt the positive vibes and the positive energy that you have,” he said. “You will make it.”
K-based Regent Holidays became the first international tour operator to offer trips to Kosovo last May. It brought its first group of 22 British tourists to Kosovo for a long weekend on May 1, 2009. The tour included Gjakova, Peja, Istog, Prekaz and Pristina.
The British firm, which provides trips to a range of unusual destinations, markets Kosovo as an ‘ideal for pioneering travellers keen to discover Europe’s newest country which only declared independence in 2008’. Prices range from 550euro for a three-day city break to 880 euro for a week-long escorted tour.
Andrea Godfrey, general manager for Regent Holidays, told Balkan Insight earlier this year that Kosovo has great potential, but lacks good tour guides and information for tourists. She added that hotel prices are expensive compared to similar countries.
According to the Statistical Office, around 20,000 visitors came to Kosovo in the first six months of 2009, with a slight rise in the second half of the year. In neighbouring, also landlocked, Macedonia, more than 90,000 tourists visited the country in the first quarter of 2009 alone.
Biltaji, the tourism advisor for King Abdullah II of Jordan, was left waiting at Prihtina International Airport because staff was baffled by his passport.
The immigration officer was forced to leave her booth and consult other staff about the Jordanian diplomatic passport before allowing Mr Biltaji to enter Kosovo. “She was very honest and was always smiling,” Mr Biltaji said, referring to the border guard. “She came back and said it was the first time she had seen a passport of that kind. “She had guts and she was beautiful.”
His Excellency Agel Biltaji, who is credited with transforming tourism in Jordan, made the comments at the opening of the American Tourism Society’s conference in Kosovo this week.
The ATS, an influential grouping of tour operators, is visiting Kosovo to look for tourism opportunities in the world’s youngest country. Biltaji told an audience of ATS members and Kosovo-based tourism operators that Kosovo should look to its neighbours, Turkey and the Arab world for potential visitors to the country.
“What is wrong with looking to your next door neighbours first?” he said. “You should look to the Muslim world. The silent majority of Muslims in the Arab world would like to be like Kosovo.” He added the historic ties with Turkey should also be exploited.
“Turkey is becoming bigger and stronger,” he said. “Turkish Airlines is the fourth largest carrier in Europe. “Turkey is already engaged and interested. You should align yourself with those who are already here.”
The ATS group will visit sites in Pristina, Peja and Prizren, before travelling to Tirana, Albania in their week-long visit to the region. Mr Biltaji told Kosovo tourism bosses that they must first carry out an inventory of their assets before tackling issues such as infrastructure, which need improving.
But he added that he was confident Kosovo would overcome its current difficulties. “I have felt the positive vibes and the positive energy that you have,” he said. “You will make it.”
K-based Regent Holidays became the first international tour operator to offer trips to Kosovo last May. It brought its first group of 22 British tourists to Kosovo for a long weekend on May 1, 2009. The tour included Gjakova, Peja, Istog, Prekaz and Pristina.
The British firm, which provides trips to a range of unusual destinations, markets Kosovo as an ‘ideal for pioneering travellers keen to discover Europe’s newest country which only declared independence in 2008’. Prices range from 550euro for a three-day city break to 880 euro for a week-long escorted tour.
Andrea Godfrey, general manager for Regent Holidays, told Balkan Insight earlier this year that Kosovo has great potential, but lacks good tour guides and information for tourists. She added that hotel prices are expensive compared to similar countries.
According to the Statistical Office, around 20,000 visitors came to Kosovo in the first six months of 2009, with a slight rise in the second half of the year. In neighbouring, also landlocked, Macedonia, more than 90,000 tourists visited the country in the first quarter of 2009 alone.
Biltaji, the tourism advisor for King Abdullah II of Jordan, was left waiting at Prihtina International Airport because staff was baffled by his passport.
The immigration officer was forced to leave her booth and consult other staff about the Jordanian diplomatic passport before allowing Mr Biltaji to enter Kosovo. “She was very honest and was always smiling,” Mr Biltaji said, referring to the border guard. “She came back and said it was the first time she had seen a passport of that kind. “She had guts and she was beautiful.”
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