National Travel Agents’ Associations Seek Mediterranean Cooperation

Representatives of the United Federation of Travel Agents’ Associations (UFTAA) met in Rome recently with associations from Greece, Algeria, Croatia, Egypt, Israel, Italy, FYROM, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey to consider the future of a “Mediterranean cooperation.”

Views were exchanged on the creation of an UFTAA Mediterranean Region, which would launch the basis for a close collaboration of travel and tourism national associations of countries that harbor on the Mediterranean Sea, and all members present at the meeting said they were in favor of such an effort. They also looked at ways to create/stimulate commercial, amicable, profitable working contacts between associations and travel and tourism agents of the region, which they said represented 30% of the world tourism.

Factual problems discussed included the restriction against tour leaders to perform when accompanying national groups to other countries; the facilities available to tourists from north of the Mediterranean sea to head south, while tourists from the south encounter a number of problems to simply visit countries north of the Mare Nostrum; and the tourism-related problems created in the area due to the planet global warming.

Members also discussed ways to establish the basis for a “Mediterranean Pass” that would ease the way for tourists to travel to two or three countries of the area, as well as ways to create an internet virtual space (portal) for Mediterranean products, and ways to “brand” the region.