Tag Archives: Minister of Tourism

Sustainable development needs to be the cornerstone of the Travel and Tourism sector, now and into the future, according to H.E. Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Tourism, who took part in the fourth annual World Economic Forum Urban Transformation Summit, being held in San Francisco, California. The Minister, who is one of the chairs of the Summit, gave Keynote Remarks during the Opening Plenary session. He commented that while tourism growth brings challenges like overcrowding, inadequate infrastructure, and environmental pressures, keeping sustainability at the heart of the approach to tackling those challenges will set up the sector for the future: “We are seeing exponential growth in the tourism sector, and in parallel, we are seeing a rising demand for sustainable, enriching experiences. This provides us with the chance to reshape tourism while safeguarding the planet and driving positive change that benefits communities as well as economies, for future generations.” Al-Khateeb, who also is also the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s Quality of Life Program, went on to say that building a strong global community of industry leaders and experts who can convene at forums such as the WEF Urban Transformation Summit, is essential for creating a positive and lasting future for tourism and developing collaborative solutions to seize on those growth opportunities responsibly. “Tourism and sustainability are key pillars of Saudi Arabia’s Future Saudi Cities Programme and remain a focus for our leaders,” said Al-Khateeb, “But we need city leaders, urban planners, and tourism experts from around the world to share best practices at forums like these, to think about the tourism sector and work out how they can support it by creating smart, sustainable, and resilient cities. Stronger public-private …

The Minister of Tourism and Chairman of the Executive Council of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Ahmed bin Aqeel Al-Khateeb minister added that Saudi Arabia successfully welcomed over 27 million international tourists in 2023, highlighting ongoing efforts to develop plans and strategies to host more than 70 million international tourists by 2030. Minister of Tourism and Chairman of the Executive Council of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Ahmed bin Aqeel Al-Khateeb, led the Saudi delegation participating in the UN General Assembly Sustainability Week held at the UN headquarters in New York City. UNGA President Dennis Francis and UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili attended the event. According to SPA, during the opening session, the minister highlighted the Kingdom’s efforts over the past two years, serving as the Chair of the Executive Council of the UNWTO, to enhance the representation of the travel and tourism sector in international forums. Al-Khateeb also indicated that this support has contributed to launching initiatives in collaboration with Saudi Arabia, such as the Best Tourism Villages award, the Tourism Open Minds initiative, and the formation of a team to redesign the future of tourism. Moreover, he noted that Saudi Arabia’s efforts have led to the inclusion of the tourism sector in the agenda of the UNGA Sustainability Week. He emphasized that under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, and HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom has become one of the most promising and attractive tourist destinations globally. He noted that the Kingdom topped the UNWTO’s list of major tourist destinations in terms …

Tourism Malaysia has outlined its ambitious plans for growth today during an event held at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2019 in Dubai. The organisation’s participation is designed to support the objectives of the Visit Malaysia 2020 initiative, which aims to attract more than 30 million tourists and around AED 89 billion in tourist receipts. More than 50 representatives from key stakeholders in Malaysia’s travel and hospitality sectors have travelled to the UAE for the event, where they showcased the latest news and updates on the country’s tourism offerings. The GCC remains a key market for inbound tourism to Malaysia, with total arrivals from West Asia standing at 315,733 during 2018, an increase of 25% on the previous year. The number of visitors from Saudi Arabia increased by 11.7%, while UAE travellers increased by 9.7%. Oman recorded the biggest rise in visitor numbers, at 36.9%. During the same period, visitors from the region contributed more than around AED 2.7 billion to Malaysia’s economy, with tourism receipts rising by 33% compared to 2017. Travellers from GCC countries also recorded the highest average expenditure per person, with visitors from Saudi Arabia spending around AED 10,300, United Arab Emirates around AED 8,300, Oman around AED 7,500, and Kuwait around AED 7,400. Y B Datuk Mohamaddin bin Ketapi, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Malaysia commented, “It is particularly relevant for us to be here during the national Year of Tolerance, which highlights the common values of our two countries by emphasising on the importance of diversity and harmonious coexistence. We look forward to further building on our shared legacy of cultural exchange and extend a warm invitation to travellers from the Middle East to …

A delegation of 51 Sri Lanka-based tourism and hospitality companies visited Arabian Travel Market to develop tourist arrivals and demand in the island-nation. In 2017, Sri Lanka received a total of 107,635 tourists from the Middle East region with 6.5 percent growth with the UAE as one of the fastest growing tourism market from the region. Currently there are 70 direct flight services a week connecting the UAE to Sri Lanka suggesting the potential to grow and develop the market further is great, especially as travellers from the country on average have one of the highest travel spends in the world. This will result in not only return dividends for Sri Lanka’s tourism and hospitality industries, but also for the retail industry. John Amaratunga, Sri Lankan Minister of Tourism said, “Sri Lanka has much to offer visitors from the region with our distinctive, adventure-packed, eco-friendly, family-focused experiences and offerings, as well as our rich nature, heritage and culture, year-round schedule of festivals and special events, numerous parks and eco centers, luxury resorts and wellness centres, and romantic settings for honeymooners and couples. Our mission has done much to put Sri Lanka on the map and in the hearts and minds of Middle East-based travel partners, and in combination with future promotions planned for the country and the region, I’m confident we will see many more visitors from the region making Sri Lanka their next holiday destination of choice in the coming months.”

Emirates’ inaugural Boeing 777-300ER flight from Dubai to Zagreb touched down in the capital city of Croatia, with more than 350 passengers on board, to a water cannon salute and an exhilarating performance by traditional Croatian folk dancers. Among the dignitaries travelling on flight EK129 were Thierry Antinori, Emirates’ Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer; Thierry Aucoc, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations (Europe and Russian Fed); Gari Cappelli, Minister of Tourism, Republic of Croatia; His Excellency Ali Al Ahmed, UAE Ambassador to Croatia and a contingent of partners and business leaders from Dubai, Hong Kong, India and China. This debut flight to Croatia took off from Dubai at 08.15 hours and landed in Zagreb at 12.20 hours. Thereafter, from Zagreb, the departure took place at 15.35 hours and arrival at Dubai happened at 23.05 hours. The flight carried commercial passengers from more than 16 countries in the Emirates’ network, including Taiwan, Australia, India, UAE, Korea, China, Japan, Singapore and South Africa. The new daily flight will open up access to more than 80 worldwide destinations in Emirates’ global network for Croatian travellers and vice versa. Travel from as far as Shanghai, Beijing, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, or Sydney and Melbourne, to Croatia, is all extremely convenient now, with just one stop at Emirates’ world-class Dubai hub.