PORT-SUDAN, Sudan, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Sudan's First Vice-President, Bakri Hassan Saleh, and Secretary-General of United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) inaugurated on Tuesday the 10th Tourism and Shopping Festival in eastern Sudan's Red Sea State.
The Red Sea Tourism and Shopping Festival is an annual event starting from November and lasting for three months.
The Festival is the largest touristic event in Sudan as well as an opportunity to exhibit the Red Sea State's cultural heritage in eastern Sudan.
The Sudanese government is working to make the festival one of the most important means to showcase the Red Sea's tourism potential, revive internal tourism and attract foreign tourists.
"The Red Sea tourism and shopping festival is one of the most important tourist festivals in Sudan," Mohammed Abu Zaid, Sudan's Tourism Minister, told Xinhua.
"We seek to upgrade this festival to be an international one via diversifying foreign participation and communicating the tourism potential in the Red Sea area," he noted.
Abu Zaid added that the festival this year has gained additional momentum through the UNWTO secretary-general's participation.
This the first visit of its kind for a UNWTO senior official to Sudan in 11 years, following the UNWTO's decision in October 2015 to lift the sanctions imposed on Sudan's tourism and antiquities sector 11 years ago.
Sudan's Red Sea State Tourism Minister and head of the festival's higher committee, Saleh Salah Saleh, told Xinhua "this is the 10th session of the festival."
"Each year the festival achieves many accomplishments, where it contributes to advancing tourism in the Red Sea state. This year we are working to make the festival an international one through the participation of representatives of a number of sister countries together with the participation of the UNWTO secretary-general in the inauguration of the festival," he added.
Sudan's Red Sea State, 870 km east of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, is Sudan's number one tourist resort, with distinguished tourism venues including its beach which is one of the purest in the world, besides sea islands and nature reserves.
Furthermore, the Red Sea resorts enjoy a variety of marine life, coral reefs and tourism-related activities such as diving, underwater photography and fishing.
The Red Sea State government organizes the tourism and shopping festival annually to boost tourism in the area, attract tourists, and demonstrate the cultural and ethnic heritage of the region together with its ancient history.
The coastal city of Port-Sudan lies on the western coast of the Red Sea, two meters above sea level, and it is Sudan's main sea port as well as the capital of the Red Sea State.
Port-Sudan's population amounts to around 579,942 people according to 2011 statistics and is considered Sudan's eastern gate.
The Sudanese government has been working to revive domestic tourism, and the tourism ministry launched a program entitled "My Sudanese Vacation" to display the country's beauty.
The program is based on a partnership between the ministry and private sector companies, and encourages domestic summer tourism for university students, civil society organizations and businessmen.
Port-Sudan, the Red Sea state's capital city, has recently witnessed substantial economic activity due to hosting the three-month festival.
"This festival is important for the Red Sea state and Port-Sudan city. The city has acquired wide fame thanks to the festival," Hammad Mohamed, a citizen from Port-Sudan, told Xinhua.
"Port-Sudan witnesses an economic flourishing for three months as tourists from inside and outside Sudan rush to the city. The festival has contributed to exposing the Red Sea's tourism potential," he noted.
Sudanese authorities have also been working to revive the tourism sector to embrace its natural position as an important resource for the country which has faced economic difficulties following South Sudan's separation in 2011, eliminating around 70 percent of Sudan's oil revenues.
According to the latest statistics from Sudan's tourism ministry, tourism revenues for 2015 amounted to 930 million U.S. dollars, with the number of tourists rising to 700,000.
The ministry expects tourist numbers to grow by seven percent next year after inaugurating roads linking Sudan to many neighboring countries in addition to signing agreements with different countries in the tourism field.
