Tourism festivals between stereotypes and innovation -------Dr.. Ali Mohamed Osman Al-Iraqi

Tourism festivals between stereotypes and innovation
Dr.. Ali Mohamed Osman Al-Iraqi
Festivals are one of the most effective ways to stimulate demand for tourist destinations
First: Developing tourist attractions by increasing leisure and business facilities and developing multiple tourist patterns
Second: The development of new tourist destinations compatible with international standards and stimulating tourism demand and have multiple impacts on the economic sectors, notably
 Providing entertainment tourism requirements*
 Promote the growth of the tourism industry.*
Increase private investment in tourism facilities and services.*
 Achieving economic diversification and balanced regional development.*
 Increasing the interdependence of the tourism industry with other economic sectors such as construction, transport, and others.
Thirdly: enriching the tourist experience; the activities realize the tourist's desire to benefit from the cultural and entertainment of his trip and provide him with an area to know the destination.
Fourth: Reduce the seasonal and job creation
If these are some of the benefits and benefits of festivals and events, let us explore the Sudanese experience in this regard.
The Red Sea State under the reign of Wali Mohamed Tahir Ela began the tourist festivals. The reports confirm the steady increase in the number of visitors over the years, as well as the improvement in the urban environment of Port Sudan and the creation of employment opportunities. Some states and localities followed the footsteps of the Red Sea in the organization of annual tourism festivals, but the observer notes the small impact on the economic reality and lack of achievement of the benefits that we initiated the article, and here the question arises Why did not succeed Festivals?
In my opinion, the most important reason is the stereotype and lack of innovation; the states tried to follow the experience of the Red Sea without an in-depth study of the reasons for their success and distinctive characteristics. More importantly, the states ignored their specificities and identities; the festival becomes tourism even if we do not call it the criterion here is the ability of the festival and its programs to attract Visitors and the private sector and motivate demand. If Shendi organizes a mango festival, for example, it is a tourist festival, as is the case if a civil festival was organized for culture or wrestling in Kadugli and others
Despite the fact that tourism is a private sector activity and is expected to move the local economy in the state, the observer sees an indecent interference by the government agencies in this activity; an intervention that increases government spending and turns the activity into a political festival. And to ensure the continuation of his work, all this ends on the morning of the end of the festival
The government is playing an important and important role, but the dear reader notes that instead of improving its planning and monitoring work to ensure quality and improve the services provided by the private sector, it is in the center of the activity.
This is an invitation to review the philosophy of festivals and to be part of an integrated strategy for tourism development, a strategy that classifies the current, promising and future objectives, and arranges programs to develop them and stimulate demand, especially internal tourism, and emphasize the distinctiveness of each state with a tourist identity based on the system of supply and liabilities of destination. All of this must be consistent with the state's development strategy and its basic choices
Elaf newspaper