At a ceremony in Dubai attended by travel and tourism industry professionals and representatives from the local Arab community as well as the international media, Morocco’s Minister of Tourism, Mr. Lahcen Haddad, was named the 2015 “Tourism Personality of the Year.”

The minister received the award from the Arab Center for Tourist Media as part of the 8th edition of tourist trophies awarded annually by the center since 2008.

During the ceremony, Mr. Hussein, President of the Arab Center for Tourist Media, said that the consecration of Mr. Haddad is “to honor the minister in recognition of his experience and his efforts for the development of Arabic and local tourism.” He also explained that the objective of these awards is to “support and encourage the efforts and achievements to develop this sector in the Arab countries, and to boost tourist flows in Arab countries, and encourage the use of quality of services.

In his address, Mr. Haddad recalled the place and positioning of Morocco as a destination in the world tourism sphere. “This place embodies the maturity of the Moroccan destination and reaffirms its relevance.”

Mr. Haddad was reassured about the future of world tourism, adding that the tourism industry remains important, especially as the trip culture is increasingly rooted in travel habits. He said that tourism is a major factor of global economic change which is evolving more towards the services entertainment industry. Mr. Haddad added that the challenge for the coming years is to mobilize policymakers to focus on the innovations of the tourism trade.

The selection committee from the Arab Center for Tourist Media announced that the awarding of the prize of “Tourism Personality of the Year” going to Mr. Lahcen Haddad, was the result of him receiving a score of 4,569 votes. The mode of voting for this edition was done by electronic vote with the participation of 122 AEs listed in 23 categories representing 18 Arab countries.