The Importance of Strategic Marketing Management for the Libyan Tourism Development

Africa is a small but expanding region of the global tourism economy. Early efforts to encourage tourism in the 1990s were re-energized after the lifting of UN sanctions in 2003 following dramatic changes in Libya’s foreign policy. Despite a healthy economy, high rates of unemployment (30%) combine with a dominant source of income - oil - which contributes 95% of GDP. Thus Libya is considering tourism for economic diversification. It is a unique destination with: long untouched coastal beaches; stunning and well-preserved Roman and Greek antiquities; amazing desert adventure opportunities; prehistoric civilizations; generous and hospitable people. Despite being very safe, Libya has an image problem in the world: desert; hot; a culture similar to other Arab countries. The tourism industry faces enormous challenges, mostly related to the absence of a clear strategy for tourism development: destination accessibility; poor protection for tourism attractions/antiquities; weak human resource development, environmental and quality service issues. The development of tourism marketing management as an area that attracts tourists will contribute to the support of the economy, and reach a high rank of the determinants that have been adopted by many countries of the world to gain access to global tourism market. Available online at https://int-scientific-journals.com