The Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) has signed an agreement with Sweden-based Anderson Public Relations agency to introduce Sharjah's tourism products to the Scandinavian tourism markets and attract an increased number of these tourists into the emirate. The agreement is part of a series of similar agreements SCTDA intends to conclude with key Scandinavian tourist agencies, following a visit paid by a delegation from the authority to Sweden in March, aimed at strengthening ties with the tourism community in Sweden's dynamic tourism market. According to the agreement announced on Sunday, the SCTDA will seek to set up a joint venture with key Scandinavian travel and tourism agencies and trade firms and will explore ways to increase Scandinavian tourist influx into Sharjah, by such initiatives as developing competitive tourist packages for this region, promoting Sharjah as a favorable investment destination, and raising awareness of Sharjah's investor-friendly climate and sound infrastructure among the Scandinavian investment community. Mohammed Ali Al-Noman, director general of SCTDA, stressed the importance of the new strategies set out by the authority for this year to increase the tourist and investment influx into the emirate. He said the authority has begun opening new markets and establishing representative offices in different parts of the world, with special focus on Scandinavian markets. These countries are at the forefront of SCTDA's agenda for 2008, as statistics have demonstrated an increasing number of Scandinavian tourists visiting Sharjah and higher interest in Sharjah's tourism offerings. “We seek, through this agreement, to make a 5-10 percent annual growth in average number of tourists from Scandinavian countries entering Sharjah, as recent statistics have shown a growing influx of tourists from those countries into Sharjah during the last few years, in line with the emirate's growing position as a world-class tourist destination, featuring a multitude of unique tourist attractions. We will try to utilize Scandinavian airlines' tendency to operate transit flights to the Far East through Sharjah International Airport, especially in winter season. Among these airlines is MyTravel Airways, which operated 486 flights through Sharjah International Airport during the period from October 2007 to April 2008. We will thus further promote Sharjah as a tourist product to make the emirate a tourist destination for transit Scandinavian passengers going to the Far East,” he added. Al-Noman pointed out to the strength of economic ties between the UAE and Scandinavian countries, particularly Sweden, as the UAE is the second largest trade partner of Sweden in the Middle East. The value of trade exchange between the two countries has surged by 80 percent over the last five years, adding further momentum to their positive bilateral relations. Al-Noman also highlighted the unique combination of tourist and investment attractions in Sharjah, which has led to the emirate becoming a modern hub of business, saying that Sharjah's governmental departments and business entities are leveraging all available resources to provide investors with attractive incentives, state-of-the-art facilities and modern infrastructure to help them reach new levels of success. “Sharjah provides an attractive investment climate for all aspects of economic activities, and has therefore become a favored destination for business, industrial, tourist and cultural enterprises. This, in turn, has enhanced Sharjah's investor-friendly legal environment, which has proven efficiency in attracting investors to establish diverse projects that have contributed to an increased rate of growth and job creation. Today, we are working to spread global awareness of the existing attractions in Sharjah with the aim of boosting its already leading position on the world business and tourism map,” Al-Noman added __
