Obstacles to Tourism Development (1):
The most important obstacles which are obstacles to the development of tourism:
The first obstacle: the low degree of political and government support for the tourism sector and the fear of the new, in developing countries seem to fear the new and not to accept tourism projects for fear of taking responsibility and the burden of experience, may be due to the mistaken belief that spending on tourism activity is a form of extravagance, The investment goes to other areas, with low awareness, the importance and value of the cultural heritage of the state, and the lack of awareness of the economic feasibility of tourism activity in general. Also, the state does not do what the tourist state, which has traditionally provided assistance in cash and in kind And the land for important tourism projects and the full customs exemption for production inputs and long-term loans with simple or reduced benefits. Hence, investors find that tourism does not receive as an economic sector of importance given to it by many countries, including the least developed developing countries such as Egypt, Tunisia and Lebanon.
Second obstacle: economic and financial measures, such as the establishment of some provinces and local government agencies and other official governmental bodies such as the Antiquities Authority to impose or increase the fees of some tourist areas, museums and various tourist activities such as hotels and some means of transport and others without reference to the Ministry of Tourism.
Third obstacle: Weak specialized appropriations for the Ministry of Tourism in its budget and in the budget of its affiliates to carry out the necessary for tourism training on the technical and technical level to keep up with the tourism development which necessitates the training of an increasing number of young people on tourist services. In addition, The public sector, and deepen the efforts of external tourism marketing in the existing markets and the opening of new political markets to attract more tourist traffic.
The fourth obstacle: the weakness of the level of basic facilities, most of the tourist areas are still lacking many of these facilities and all kinds of driving force, water and sanitation, and methods and telecommunications. There is no doubt that the highways networks equipped with guidance signs need special attention because without them there can be no development of the basic tourist and its airports.
The fifth obstacle: the routine of tourism organization and lack of dynamism, as the official tourism organization in Iraq is characterized by traditional and complex and distorted in many aspects of routine contrary to the nature of tourism.
This organization must be modified to be able to face the imposed sensitivity and effectiveness of the international and domestic tourism movement as a policy and flexibility in decision-making and is based on immediate response to changes in the global market and the internal market, and is required to become the marketing direction Marketin Approach, the pioneer of this organization to adapt and penetrate the national tourism work. This marketing trend is necessitated by the need for structural change in the Ministry of Tourism and other official organs in order to build on a system of relations and linkages that identify available resources, mobilize them and manage them in accordance with efficiency and efficiency.
The sixth obstacle: The procedures for granting licenses for tourist facilities are long and sometimes complicated, and it is necessary to facilitate their granting in practice.
The seventh obstacle: Lack of tourism development awareness, where there is no tourist awareness among the masses and between the parties dealing with tourists (passports, customs, banks, ports, media, tourism companies). And the lack of interest in the various media reflect the views and desires of the political leadership in the first place, what is required is political support, and should be interested in increasing the number of regional museums and technical and archaeological and a multiplicity of tourist guidance centers and parks and television programs, Tourism and how to use them, and ways of dealing with foreign Alsaihn contemporary scientific methods.
The eighth obstacle: Cultural constraints and prevailing values, where many of the global examples are spread, some of which urge dependence and lack of understanding of the value of time, while others urge the lack of seriousness and commitment, which affects the patterns of behavior and development in the need for new patterns and behavioral values ​​that push development goals to the right path , Values ​​that impede development lack of appreciation of time and lack of respect for work as a value and fear of new and innovative and isolationism and interdependence and the recognition of the importance of the role of women in society.
(1) Salim Boutros Jlada, Principles of Management of Tourism and Travel Offices, p. 121.