Along with speakers from more than 16 countries,  Dr. Ioannis Pappas, GSTC Board Member & Director for the Mediterranean Region, spoke at the 1st International Conference of the Semi-Arid Mountainous Environments in Asir Region

The first International Conference of the Semi-Arid Mountainous Environments was held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Turki bin Talal bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Asir region. His Royal Highness welcomed the participant guests in the conference, stressing on the importance of cooperation and demonstrate the practical experiences that would potentially contribute in boosting rural, urban, tourism and ecotourism development, as well as, operationalize the conservation of the renewable natural resources programs. “I welcome you personally and I am pretty confident that, with the cooperation of all participants, we will have pivotal recommendations and ideas that will be implemented in Asir region”. He said welcoming the guests of the conference.

Dr. Pappas spoke about the GSTC and its Criteria and “Evaluation of tourism investment opportunities in Asir Province.”

The delegations comprised a wide range of personalities from Arab and world countries, including America, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Morocco, Oman, Jordan, Sudan, Djibouti, Brazil, Tunisia, Greece, India, and Saudi Arabia.
Participants of the conference discussed a broad range of issues, including ecotourism and development of national parks, Agricultural tourism, and evaluation of tourism investment opportunities in Asir region.