http://www.english.hadhramaut.info Yemen launches 2nd tourist campaign in Europe [The Source: www.sabanews.net - 15/10/2008] Yemen is to launch on October 17th the 2nd largest tourist campaign in the European markets.The Promotion Tourism Board said, in a press release, the campaign would include the European cities Landon, Paris, Frankfort and Milan. It aims to introduce the Yemeni tourist characteristics in areas of culture, nature, history and civilization. The campaign also aims to show the reality of security situation in the country and the procedures Yemen has taken to rescue the tourist movements through holding meetings with key tourist and travel, public relation companies and media outlets. Moreover, the campaign intends to mitigate the travel warnings for Yemen, which have been issued base on false and inaccurate information.Some of the procedures Yemen has taken to rescue tourist movements are establishing a specialized unit to protect tourists, approving an automatic tourist vehicle tracking system, creating tourist emergency unit and establishing a specialized court to speed up settle terrorist-related issues in addition to launching extensive operations hunting people suspected to have connections with such issues.Tourism Promotion Board will be in London in the coming weeks, on the first leg of its European Roadshow, which will also eventually travel to Italy, Germany and France.According to Travel Daily News website, Yemen's National Dance Academy will first be stopping at London's Paddington Station for displays of traditional dancing throughout the day of Sunday 18th October.The Board will be hosting an engaging Evening of Discovery at the London Millennium Mayfair Hotel on Monday 19th October. The National Dance Academy will be making a second appearance alongside an impressive exhibit by leading Yemeni photographers.Apart from the entertainment, the event will also feature a Q&A session where would-be visitors and interested persons can learn about the various details of visiting Yemen. Also featured will be an exhibition by acclaimed photographers from the country, and prizes for various contests held throughout the evening.The events will also feature offers and deals from a number of British tours operators offering packages to Yemen. Last year, around 9,000 British travelers visited Yemen. The Arab country welcomed a total of over 400,000 visitors.UK spokesman for Yemen Tourism Promotion Board, Christopher Imbsen, has said UK visitors to Yemen would be fascinated by the range of extraordinary experiences the country has to offer.He adds that although Yemen is usually a choice for experienced travelers, with many areas still being out of bounds for tourists, regular travelers will find a lot to discover in this land of mystery and adventure.The event is open to journalists, travel and tourism professionals and others with an interest in this Land of Mystery and Adventure. The Board's UK team will be on hand to discuss study tour and press trip options for tour operators, travel agents and journalists.Three weeks later, Yemen's biggest ever delegation will be at London's World Travel Market on 9th November for four days of events and meetings with leading tour operators, journalists and investors.The board is trying to do its best to change the wrong image of Yemen in western media due to some security events and warnings against unnecessary travel from Europe to the country.Through such effective tourist participations, Yemen seeks to brief foreigners, particularly Europeans, on developments in the country, including the security side and what actions had been taken to maintain security and stability which ensure the safety of everyone in the country.Yemen launched the first campaign in November 2007, which resulted in increasing the coming tourists with an average reach 7 percent. According to statistics, abut 404,497 tourists from different nationalities have arrived in Yemen in 2008 compared to 378,361 people in 2007.It is worth to mention that Yemen has received an award of the best tourist destination in the world for adventure tourism and tourism for low-income families in 2007 in the Hong Kong Travel Forum in China held on June 14 – 17.