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Members of the Federal National Council (FNC) on Tuesday expressed dismay at the very small percentage of Emiratis in the fast-growing tourism sector, calling for urgent government efforts to attract young nationals into the sector.
According to members, the lack of interest among Emiratis to join the tourism industry was because of poor incentives.
Chaired by Speaker Mohammed Ahmed Al Murr, the session was attended by Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development; Dr Rashid Ahmed bin Fahd, Minister of Environment and Water, who is also the Chairman of the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology, and Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Minister for FNC Affairs.
Responding to member Misbah Al Kitbi’s question on what was being done to get UAE nationals in the tourism sector, Shaikh Nahyan, who is also the Board Chairman of the National Council for Tourism and Antiquities, said: “I agree the number of Emiratis is too low in the sector, and we need more. But the fact is that they prefer other government jobs because of incentives and job security reasons. A study shows that there are only two per cent of Emiratis in the sector, which is very small. Similarly, the number of Emiratis is also low in other private sectors.”
Many initiatives are being taken to attract more Emiratis, he said. “A law is being drafted to encourage, train and organise Emiratis to become tour guides. Under the law, they will have better incentives and specialised training programmes.”
Worried about GM foods
The other issue taken up was about the genetically modified food available in the local markets. Member Ali Issa Al Nuaimi enquired with Dr Bin Fahd about the steps being taken by the government to reduce the production of genetically modified food.
The member asked: “Reducing the spread of genetically modified food is important for the safety of public health. These kinds of food have unhealthy impacts on humans. What are the measures taken by the authority to monitor genetically modified food in local markets?”
The minister assured the members that every effort was being taken to protect consumers’ health and reduce the availability of such foodstuff in the local markets.
nissar@khaleejtimes.com
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