TBILISI: Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb emphasized on Friday the importance of connectivity, sustainability manpower and the challenges of “overtourism.”
He was speaking during the World Tourism Day celebrations in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Friday.
One of the main issues facing tourism, Al-Khateeb said, is sustainability, which is vital for the country’s economy, job creation and inclusion.
“We look at sustainability in Saudi Arabia from three angles: from social, economic and environmental perspectives,” he said.
“We were hit hard by COVID-19, especially small and medium enterprises, and we learned the hard way.”
Al-Khateeb hopes that the 80 percent of small and medium enterprises contributing to the Kingdom’s industry and the 45 percent of women working in the sector will not suffer due to any future crisis.
The minister stressed the importance of creating policies that would help smaller countries in the sector and at the same time protect their nature and heritage.
The minister also highlighted the importance of environmental sustainability and how Saudi Arabia has established the well-funded Global Tourism Sustainability Center.
He said: “Eighty percent of people in the workforce in our industry are youth. We need to hire the youth.”
According to Al-Khateeb, the international tourism industry accounts for about 10 percent of the global economy and is expected to increase to about 20 percent by 2032.
“In 2019, tourism used to represent only 3 percent of Saudi economy. Today, it has reached 5 percent. And our target is to make it reach 10 percent by 2030,” he said.
“Last year, we received 27 million international arrivals to Saudi Arabia. In 2019, they were only 12 million.”