In line with its ongoing efforts to promote the emirate of Sharjah as a leading family and cultural tourism destination, Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) successfully concluded a promotional tour of the Commonwealth of Independent States, organised by the National Council for Tourism and Antiquities from September 7 to 11, 2015.

The tour featured road shows in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, during which SCTDA showcased its latest tourism initiatives launched as part of the Sharjah Tourism Vision 2021, which aims to attract 10 million tourists by 2021. The tour included a series of workshops and meetings participated by more than 75 representatives from the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors in each destination, as SCTDA and its partners, including Sharjah Airport Travel Agency (SATA), Air Arabia and Grand Hotel Sharjah, promoted the upcoming tourism and hospitality projects in the emirate.

SCTDA expects the promotional tour to translate to more tourist inflows to Sharjah from countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States, which is one of the most important markets for the emirate’s tourism sector. According to SCTDA, hotels in the emirate recorded as many as 100,000 guests from CIS nations during the first six months of this year, reflecting the volume of tourists from these countries to Sharjah.

The road shows started on September 7 at Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, followed by Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, on September 9. The tour concluded on September 11 in the city of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.

As the main entity responsible for the development and promotion of Sharjah’s tourism sector, SCTDA recently launched the Sharjah Tourism Vision 2021 that aims to attract 10 million tourists by 2021 by focusing on four main pillars – promoting Sharjah as an Ideal Family Tourism Destination, following an Innovative Tourism Approach, developing World Class Tourism Facilities and Capabilities, and strengthening Sharjah’s position as an International Cultural Hub.