RIYADH: An additional 350,000 tourists are expected to visit Saudi Arabia after the Kingdom’s tourism authority entered into a partnership with global bookings firm Trip.com.
The deal was one of 14 signed by the organization at a trade show in Berlin, with agreements also reached with German low-cost airline Eurowings, Saudi carrier Flynas and new collaborations with Visit Bahrain, Visit Oman and Qatar Tourism.
Saudi Tourism Authority’s participation in the event, held at ITB Berlin, came as the Kingdom celebrates achieving its Vision 2030 ambition of securing 100 million tourists a year seven years early thanks to a strong 2023.
Commenting on the event, Tourism Minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb, who is also chairman of Saudi Tourism Authority, said: “The 2024 Saudi pavilion showcased the bright future of tourism in our country in line with Saudi Vision 2030, along with the growth and evolution of Saudi’s tourism sector.
“Our participation in ITB has had a positive impact on enhancing Saudi Arabia’s position on the global tourism map — strengthening relationships and cooperation with key international partners and catalyzing joint work to achieve global sustainability in tourism.”
Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO of the authority, said: “Saudi Arabia’s participation in ITB Berlin has been one of the most successful in our history and will help turbocharge the remarkable growth our thriving tourism sector has already seen.
“With more than 55 partners from the tourism ecosystem attending the show, we secured more than 14 new agreements that will increase our connectivity and ensure the world is aware of our dynamic and diverse destinations.
“Saudi’s growth so far is just the start of our story, a story which will be built on for years to come.”
The agreement with Trip.com Group is Saudi Tourism Authority’s largest global partnership to date, and leverages the booking company’s extensive network and technological expertise to promote the Kingdom’s offerings to a worldwide audience.
The authority’s deal with Flynas involves a new route by the carrier between Jeddah and Berlin launching from Sept. 1 2024, with three flights per week.
This comes alongside an agreement between the Saudi Air Connectivity Program and Eurowings to launch two direct routes connecting Cologne and Berlin to Jeddah, with the goal of beginning operations in October 2024.
Expanding its collaborative efforts across the Gulf Cooperation Council region, the authority announced further collaboration with Visit Bahrain, Visit Oman, and Qatar Tourism which will see new promotional campaigns designed to attract new international tourists to the region.
The Saudi delegation to the trade show, held from March 5-7, consisted of more than 55 representatives and was led by Al-Khateeb and Vice Minister of Tourism Princess Haifa bint Muhammad.
There were also delegates from the wider Saudi tourism ecosystem and key partners including destination management companies, hotels, and airlines.
Over the course of the event, more than 14,000 people interacted with the Saudi stand which saw a record number of partners from the Kingdom showcasing hundreds of bookable products for partners in destinations such as Jeddah, AlUla, and the Red Sea.
