Only four percent of tourists visiting Sharjah go to the emirate's East coast, and year-long activities are needed in different areas of the East coast to promote these regions at local, regional and international levels, and to lure tourists and investors, said Mohammed Ali Al Noman, director general of the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA), at the East Coast Annual Business Forum held at Kalba office branch of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday. The theme for this year's forum “The Eastern Coast - the GCC's Future Tourism Destination,” and Al Noman highlighted the need to not only increase the number of tourism activities and hotel facilities, but also to select projects that will have a direct impact on the speed of tourism growth in Sharjah's East coast. Sharjah's tourism sector accounted for 11 percent of Sharjah's GDP - or AED 68.4 billion
