Ajman tourist chiefs look to Istanbul for inspiration

Emirate hopes to partner with Turkish city to boost tourism.

An adviser to the Ajman government says educational and industrial tourism are untapped markets that the emirate could explore.

AJMAN //Tourism bosses hope to emulate the success of Turkey's biggest city when it comes to attracting visitors and investment.

Officials have launched a campaign entitled "Ajman: the Istanbul of the GCC", which aims to create a partnership between the nations.

Speaking at its launch, Dr Zuhair Al Mansour, an expert in tourism marketing, said: "In tourism, marketing partnerships with success stories is paramount.

"If this proposal is approved and a mini-Istanbul is recreated in Ajman, then a number of Turkish investors, as well as tourists, will be attracted to the emirate."

Istanbul, famous for its Blue Mosque and the Bosphorus Bridge that links Europe and Asia, attracts millions of tourists from all over the world each year.

Dr Al Mansour said Ajman has a lot of potential for tourism that, if fully exploited, would put the emirate on the world map and attract foreign investment as well as visitors.

"The strategic location of the emirate is like a magnet that would attract a lot of people," Dr Al Mansour said.

Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Ali Al Nuaimi, the environmental adviser to the Ajman government, said it was important for Ajman to set up a partnership with an Islamic city.

"The idea of a tourism partnership with Istanbul is very attractive because this is an Islamic city with whom we have a lot of similarities in culture and traditions," Mr Al Nuaimi said.

He urged tour operators to diversify their focus when it came to visitors, saying that educational and industrial tourism were attractive but untapped markets that Ajman could explore.

Dr Al Mansour - who presented a paper called The Popularity of Ajman at a public lecture at Ajman Museum, which was organised by the Ajman Municipality and Planning Directorate - said that once the proposal had been accepted by the two governments, a memorandum of understanding would be signed.

He discussed the success stories of other places, such as Singapore, Tokyo, Abu Dhabi and New Zealand, detailing how Ajman could learn from their experiences in attracting visitors and investment.