To think of tourism in Syria nowadays is not to entertain a mere business case, but an act of worship in a pure sense. This is a country where history is not taught, but is stepped in the pavements of Palmyra, the paving of the Old Damascus and the castles of the crusaders, which are placed on the rugged hills. The country is rewriting history, and a tourism company originating in this country is to be a part of a book of rebuilding and recovery. This is not the normal entrepreneur; it is a visionary who realises that travel in its most fundamental essence can be a healing, witnessing and economic hopefulness. It requires unrivalled hard work, high sensitivity to culture.
Laying the groundwork
The early stage in your business is not in terms of business models, but in terms of sober judgment and moral stance. A post-conflict environment should be operated in a different state of mind, with mitigation of risks and benefit to the community as your driving forces, rather than the background.
Defining a concept that is viable and at the same time virtuous is the first task you need to do, and that is also the most critical. Mass tourism is not just impractical, but it is even undesirable. The future is in high specialisation and low-impact tourism. It might be worth considering the Academic and Archaeological Pilgrimage. This would allow scholars, preservationists, and individuals passionately interested history of individuals to access documented sites, always with the consultation of local antiquities authorities. Instead, you could be the first Conscious Witness Travel, thoughtfully constructed trips that focus on tales of resiliency in Syria. Work with local craftsmen and demonstrate the long-term cultural existence in areas that are stabilised. The other market with high personal investment is Diaspora Connection Tours, which provides Syrians with a visit to family and heritage sites in their home country.
This is because your business plan should be, first of all, a manifesto of safety and ethics. It must outline your procedure of risk evaluation, safe transportation and emergency evacuation plans. On the financial front, it should be highly transparent, and how revenue will be used to foster local guides, drivers, and families should be clearly described so that the economic gains are directly impacted in the communities that you are accessible to.
Practising in the legal and safety environment
The regulatory environment is dynamic and may change quickly. Not only is patience and local partnership useful, but it is also vital to navigation and legitimacy.
Setting up your legal presence
The first thing you need to do is to get your business registered with the authorities in Syria. This includes the usual working with the Ministry of Economy and Foreign Trade, which would help in creating a legal person, which is usually a limited liability company. This can only be done through hiring a local attorney; without him or her, it is impossible to do it. You will also be required to be registered as taxable. The detailed foreign ownership requirements and feasibility should be confirmed with your legal counsel because they are dynamic.
Obtaining operational permittances
In addition to the general business registration, tourism operations need special approvals. In this, you will have to negotiate with the Ministry of Tourism to be licensed to be a tour company. More importantly, all itineraries and movements will involve the permission of the Ministry of Interior and possibly other security organs. The Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) controls access to particular archaeological locations. It is not a paperwork exercise that should be done once, but a continuous application and coordination process regarding every trip.
Building relationship-based partnerships
The network of trusted local partners will be the most valuable asset that you have. This involves your lawyer as well as your fixers, local business leaders, and security consultants on the ground. The alliances are your early-warning system, your cultural bridge and your backbone to operations.
The architecture of a responsible operation
Your safety and quality commitment is actualised at the stage of building out your operational framework with permissions in place.
Assembling a local team
The most important safety feature of your staff is them. Get drivers who are not only experts in the roads and the regions but also greatly respected in their community and are well situated in their respective environment. Train them and make sure they are qualified in first aid and trauma care, and compensate them with salaries that are commensurate with the huge responsibility they have.
Experience in travel design
Here, logistics is concerned not with flexibility, but with precision. You have to hire armoured vehicles with reliable companies, have a proven line of communication (including satellite phones), and have everything to stay (including lodging and meals) pre-organised with reliable, vetted partners.
Crafting the narrative
The experiences you build should be based on dignity and authenticity. Pay attention to the deep, slow travel: having dined with a family that conserved its traditions, or having the master luthier in Damascus talk about his business, or the archaeologists who have come to restore ancient mosaics.
Conclusion
One of the hardest businesses to venture into in the travel business is starting a tourism business in Syria. It will be a trip that will challenge your will, your assets and your humanity. It is a complex road to follow, and the chances of failure are high. It is more than a profit. It is the honour of being part of the healing process of a country, of being part of the reconstruction of a broken economy ground up, and of providing a platform where people in Syria can tell their own stories of heritage and hope. It is not merely a business that you are creating, it is a wicket flame that you are taking care of. It is by following this integrity that you contribute to making sure that the world does not remember Syria as a country of ruins, but one that has a spirit that cannot be broken.
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