RIYADH: Saudi Deputy Minister of Investment Transaction Saleh Al-Khabti said that the healthcare sector’s contribution to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product is projected to reach about $66.6 billion, with the creation of more than 245,000 jobs by 2030.

Al-Khabti shared the information during a panel discussion titled “The Kingdom and Vision 2030 as a Global Health Tourism Destination”, at the Health Tourism Future Forum, which began Sunday in Riyadh.

The Health Tourism Club and the Health Tourism Association, in partnership with the Global Healthcare Travel Council, launched the forum to identify priorities and redefine visions for health tourism at regional and international levels.

The forum, which this year coincides with the eighth anniversary of the launch of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, is an annual global platform for the health tourism industry aiming to develop future strategies in the Kingdom’s healthcare sector. The global healthcare industry is estimated to be worth $4.4 trillion.

Al-Khabti said that significant investment is needed in the Saudi healthcare sector over the next seven years, much of which will be driven by the National Investment Strategy.

“Regarding foreign direct investment, Saudi Arabia reached about $19 billion, a three-time increase since 2017,” he said.

Ahmed Al-Ouraij, president of the Health Tourism Association, said that the forum marked the beginning of the first specialized health tourism initiatives.

Health tourism involves individuals traveling to another country for medical treatment or wellness services. The sector has grown rapidly in recent years due to increasing healthcare costs in many countries and advances in medical technology and expertise in specific regions.

Mahmoud Abdulhadi, deputy minister of tourism for destination enablement, mentioned that Saudi Arabia’s tourism industry has made significant progress, exceeding its target of 106 million visitors seven years ahead of schedule.

“The total amount spent on the total population of visitors was about $66.6 billion, a direct contribution to the economy,” Abdulhadi said.

The deputy minister also said that about 10 percent of all employment rates globally come from the tourism or tourism-related sectors. In Saudi Arabia, tourism contributes 4 percent to the national GDP.  

“Tourism is a key contributor to Vision 2030 because it creates employment. When we started our journey in 2019, we had 600,000 employees in the sector, and today we have 925,000.”

Abdulhadi added that increasing the number of employees to 1.6 million by 2030 seemed on target, given the current trajectory.

“Leisure is now our second-largest source of visitation after spiritual visits to the holy sites and our fastest growing sector,” he said.

Conversely, only a small percentage of visitors to the Kingdom travel for medical or wellness purposes.

Abdulhadi said: “The reason might be because health tourism hasn’t been marketed well enough or in the right way.”

While the health tourism sector is still in its early stages, Abdulhadi believes there is a strong domestic market, or potential, for wellness and health travel.  

Health tourism can range from medical treatment to wellness services. Abdulhadi said: “We have on the technical side people who are coming in for treatment for specific illnesses, and then we have on the soft side people who are coming in for what a spa experience in a nice destination is.”

He said that certain destinations lend themselves to potential wellness offerings, but that having the proper infrastructure in place is critical.

In the exhibition accompanying the conference, Healthcare London, a collaboration between nine healthcare providers, announced its official launch.

It was formed to allow more international patients to access the treatment that London’s leading private healthcare providers and NHS teaching hospitals can offer.

Michael Barker, project manager at Healthcare London, told Arab News: “Ever since we started working on Healthcare London, Saudi Arabia has been our No.1 market, especially because we know it very well.”

The forum also addresses challenges, proposes innovative solutions for sustainable growth, and works to raise awareness about the need to prioritize health and well-being. It is the culmination of the Kingdom’s drive to boost medical tourism and enhance the local and global healthcare sector.

The three-day event includes presentations, workshops, a young researchers’ forum, discussions, business meetings, seminars and interactive sessions. The activities focus on aspects of medical tourism such as innovation, investment, marketing and legislation.

RIYADH: Only a real commitment to a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict can prevent the war in Gaza from reoccurring, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Sunday.

“We in the region are not going to focus only on solving the crisis of the moment, we’re going to look at how we can solve the bigger problem in the context of Gaza. That is, a real commitment to a two-state solution, that is, a credible, irreversible path to a Palestinian state,” he told the World Economic Forum’s special meeting in Riyadh.

“That’s the only reasonable and credible solution that guarantees us from not having to come back to this same situation two, three, four years down the line.”

He added that it was up to the international community, especially those countries that have the most influence, and the UN Security Council to help implement the solution.

“It’s good that we hear most of our partners and the international community support that notion. Now we have to translate that into reality.

“We need to move from talk, to action, to concrete steps. And it can’t be left up to the warring parties. We, the international community, and especially those countries that have the most influence, the most impact, the Security Council have to step in,” he said.

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry echoed Prince Faisal’s call and said the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would not be resolved until a two-state solution came into effect.

“I’ve always advocated the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, because that’s the underlying problem. Until you resolve that … you will probably have a short-term pause, but it will recur with even greater vengeance. So we don’t want that, we want a solution to this once and for all,” he said.

Prince Faisal said the Kingdom would do everything it could to push in the direction of a two-state solution and that he was hopeful the international community would do the right thing and make the concept a reality.

“If we all agree that the Palestinian state and giving the Palestinians their right, is the solution that gives everybody what they need: security, stability, their rights, then we should all decide we’re going to invest all of our resources in making that happen.

“If we make that decision, the pathway will unfold before us, even if there are those that will try to stop it. There are levers clear, there are levers hidden, that can push us in that direction. So I want to be hopeful … and I know that we as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will do everything we can to push in that direction.

“And hopefully, the international community, given everything that has happened and given the risks involved in not doing the right thing, will come along, and we’re working with our partners, the Europeans among them and many others, to try and translate that intent into reality,” Prince Faisal said.