JEDDAH: Spain’s tourism board has appointed a specialist marketing representative in Saudi Arabia as part of its bid to double the number of Saudi tourists traveling to the country.
Daniel Rosado, Director of the Spanish Tourism Office for the Middle East, said 90,000 tourists from Saudi Arabia visited Spain in 2019, compared with 67,000 in 2016.
“We are looking to double the number of tourists traveling to Spain from the Kingdom. In January and February 2020, before the pandemic halted travel, numbers where higher than in 2019, which was very promising. We are confident Spain always has something to offer all kinds of clients from the Kingdom,” he told Arab News.
In order to achieve the growth in visitors — once international travel restarts in May for Saudis — the Spanish tourism board has appointed AVIAREPS, a global tourism marketing company, as its official partner in the Kingdom.
“This is the first time for Spain Tourism to appoint a joint representative in Saudi Arabia and is symbolic of the importance and dedication we have for further engaging and developing our connections with the Saudi market,” Rosado said in a statement.
Glenn Johnston, vice president of Middle East and Global Public Affairs at AVIAREPS, said: “In anticipation of international travel coming back online for travelers from Saudi Arabia, we look forward to rolling out a number of marketing and promotional initiatives in the months to come.”
According to the Global Holiday Intent survey conducted by YouGov on behalf of Reed Travel Exhibitions — organizer of the Arabian Travel Market exhibition in Dubai — 46 percent of people in Saudi Arabia said they intend to travel internationally once restrictions are eased later this year.
The poll was conducted late last year before the breakthroughs in coronavirus vaccines.
Spain eyes Saudi tourism in post-pandemic shake-up
https://arab.news/8dbcr
Spain eyes Saudi tourism in post-pandemic shake-up
- 90,000 tourists from Saudi Arabia visited Spain in 2019, compared with 67,000 in 2016: Namratha Rose
- “We are looking to double the number of tourists traveling to Spain from the Kingdom,” Rose added
G7 countries to release oil reserves as IEA agrees to largest ever market intervention
- IEA recommends release of 400 million barrels
RIYADH: Germany, Japan and Austria will release part of their oil reserves after the International Energy Agency recommended the release of 400 million barrels of oil from stockpiles, the largest such move in IEA history.
In a statement, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said the flow of oil, gas and other commodities through the Strait of Hormuz have all but stopped, leading global energy supply to fall by around 20 percent.
Ahead of the confirmation of the move — a larger intervention than the 182.7 million barrels that were released in 2022 by in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — several countries began setting out plans to bring their reserves into play as countries grapple with soaring crude prices amid the US-Israeli war with Iran.
Birol said: “I can now announce that IEA countries have decided to launch the largest ever release of emergency oil stocks in our agency's history.
“IEA countries will be making 400 million barrels of oil available to the market to offset the supply lost through the effective closure of the strait.
“This is a major action aiming to alleviate the immediate impacts of the disruption in markets.”
Germany’s Economy Minister Katherina Reiche confirmed on Wednesday her government plans to limit petrol price increases at filling stations to once a day and to introduce more stringent antitrust regulation of the sector.
She did not give an exact timing for those measures, but added that the US and Japan would be the largest contributors to the release of the oil reserves.
The US has not confirmed it would do so, but its Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox News on Wednesday that “these are the kinds of moments that these reserves are used for.”
The announcements did not stop oil prices rising, with Brent crude up 3.26 percent to $90.66 a barrel at 4:29 p.m Saudi time, and West Texas Intermediate up 3.12 percent to $86.05. Both were some way below the $119 a barrel seen earlier in the week.
“The situation regarding oil supplies is tense, as the Strait of Hormuz is currently virtually impassable,” Germany’s Reiche said.
“We will comply with this request and contribute our share, because Germany stands behind the IEA’s most important principle: mutual solidarity,” Reiche said about the IEA’s request.
According to a statement by Reiche’s ministry, Germany will contribute 2.64 million tonnes of oil. This corresponds to 19.51 million barrels.
Reiche stressed there was no supply shortage in the country, which has a legally mandated reserve of oil and oil products intended to cover 90 days’ demand.
South Korea will release 22.46 million barrels of oil, which represents 5.6 percent of the total IEA ask, the country's industry ministry said.
“The government will consult with the IEA secretariat on details, such as the timing and amount, from the perspective of national interests in accordance with domestic conditions,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said it would continue to coordinate closely with major countries in responding to high oil prices to minimise any domestic impact.
Austrian Economy Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer said his country was releasing part of the emergency oil reserve and extending the national strategic gas reserve, adding: “One thing is clear: in a crisis, there must be no crisis winners at the expense of commuters and businesses.”
Acting ahead of the IEA move, G7 member Japan announced plans to release 15 days' worth of private-sector oil reserves and one month's worth of state oil reserves.
“Rather than wait for formal IEA approval of a coordinated international reserve release, Japan will act first to ease global energy market supply and demand, releasing reserves as early as the 16th of this month,” Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in a broadcast statement.
Following a meeting with the IEA on Wednesday, G7 energy ministers said: “In principle, we support the implementation of proactive measures to address the situation, including the use of strategic reserves.”
All IEA member countries are required to keep 90 days’ worth of their nation’s oil use in reserve in case of global disruption.
