RIYADH: The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the UN agency responsible for the promotion of sustainable and universally accessible tourism, commended the Kingdom for its significant leap in tourism and national heritage.
Applauding the Kingdom and its apex tourism body, the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH) for causing a major shift in the tourism sector, Taleb Rifai, UNWTO secretary general said, “SCTNH has made a significant leap in tourism and national heritage, which within a short period, has become the second largest provider of employment opportunities for the youth of Saudi Arabia.”
Rifai made this remark during the G-20 Tourism Ministers’ meeting recently in Antalya, Turkey, an SCTNH spokesman said here on Sunday.
Praising the efforts made by SCTNH, Rifai said, “We found Kingdom’s experience in the foundation of the tourism sector, besides integrating tourism with national heritage, as a perfect example to be followed as the Kingdom has achieved concrete and strong outcomes within a very short period.”
“Until recently, the word ‘tourism’ was not welcomed in Saudi Arabia and some Arab countries, but now we can see an increasing number of young Saudis joining the tourism sector, as a result, in UNWTO and among the member countries of the G-20 we look with great respect to this experience, which has begun to achieve concrete results on the ground,” said Rifai.
The UNWTO secretary general also praised SCTNH President Prince Sultan bin Salman for his persistent efforts at different levels to give this sector the required momentum, both nationally and internationally.
Moreover, Rifai hailed the Saudi government’s decision to integrate national heritage with tourism as a smart gesture reflecting the keenness of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to highlight different components of his homeland and its unique civilization to the whole world.
“Essentially, tourism and national heritage are complementing each other and enhancing mutual revenue smartly,” he noted.
Commenting on the key challenges facing the tourism sector in the Middle East, Rifai noted, “There are many challenges facing the tourism sector … instability, wars that have spread in many Arab countries; however, despite such situations, UNWTO has spotted remarkable growth in many Arab countries specifically in GCC countries, which enjoy security, stability and availability of services that are required by tourists.”
On tourism’s role in creating jobs for youth, the UN tourism body head said, “it is an active and effective sector for creating a large number of job opportunities.”
Citing figures he said that in 2014, the tourism sector created jobs equivalent to 8.9 percent of total of jobs worldwide (roughly one out of every 12 jobs) and also contributed to 9 percent of the World Gross Domestic Product which reflects the importance of such a vital sector in addition to its coherence and ability to renew itself and its positive impact on other sectors.
Notably, speaking on the “rapid growth registered by domestic tourism and its future” during a discussion organized by SCTNH, industry experts maintained that the tourism sector has potential to create concrete change in the national economy and emerge as the future alternative of crude oil as the mainstay of revenue.