Saudi Arabia has established an international presence on the world tourism scene with a set of unique achievements during the previous year.
The most notable achievements, according to a report released by the Saudi Ministry of Tourism, were the Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman’s announcement about the establishment of the Global Center for Tourism Sustainability and the country’s selection to host the World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) world summit.
The study revealed that local overnight trips surpassed 60 million in 2021, with an estimated spending volume of $21.3 billion, a 30 percent rise over 2019. There was a 10 percent increase in the number of workers in the tourism sector in 2020.
Other achievements, according to the report, include winning a seat on the World Tourism Organization’s Executive Council as the first vice president, including “Rijal Alma” being named one of the best tourist villages in the world, and Saudi Arabia being chosen to host the World Tourism Organization on World Tourism Day 2023.
Furthermore, the World Tourism Organization has welcomed Saudi Arabia and Spain’s initiative to form a working group to redesign the future of tourism. The kingdom has also established the World Tourism Academy in collaboration with the Organization and ratified the World Tourism Organization’s regional office in Saudi Arabia.
Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al Khateeb confirmed that the tourism sector achieved several milestones in the past year, including record domestic tourism numbers, the restoration of a large percentage of tourism figures from abroad, significant job growth due to efforts to train Saudis, and the Kingdom’s growing international influence.
Al Khateeb stated that there is a lot of work to be done to reach the ambitious goals of making the country one of the most important tourist destinations in the world, disclosing that he met employees to build specific strategies to achieve the 2022 targets.
“Mohamad Bin Salman has set specific targets for the tourism industry by 2030. He gave us the tools, and now it’s up to us to meet our objectives, which include increasing tourism’s contribution to the GDP to 10 percent, receiving 100 million visitors each year, and creating one million new jobs. We planned and will attain our objectives,” he added.
Global Center for Tourism Sustainability
Last year, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the establishment of the Global Center for Tourism Sustainability, a multi-country and multilateral alliance dedicated to accelerating the tourism sector’s transition to net-zero emissions and actively supporting global efforts to protect Nature and societies.
Al Khateeb stated that the center’s mission would be to support travelers, government agencies, and the private sector by enabling tourism to grow and create jobs while meeting the Paris Agreement’s climate goals, including limiting global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Tourism and travel contribute to 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, Saudi Arabia is attempting to achieve a rapid shift in tourism practices, having prioritized the sector to attain net-zero emissions.
The center seeks to be the cornerstone on which the sector will rely as it recovers from the repercussions of the pandemic while ensuring a bright future for tourism.
Forecast for 2022
Considering its efforts to resume advertising its tourism spots locally and globally after being hampered by the pandemic, Saudi Arabia expects to attract 50 million tourist visits in 2022.
“We have already begun the journey of recovery,” Al Khateeb said, “and it will continue until 2023 and 2024,” as the Saudi Ministry of Tourism announced the kingdom’s opening of its doors to tourists and the removal of the suspension of entry for tourist visa holders.
Fully vaccinated travelers may enter Saudi Arabia without an institutional quarantine period if they provide an official certificate of vaccination upon arrival, as well as proof of a negative PCR test.
According to Al Khateeb, the tourist sector is on track to account for more than 4 percent of the country’s GDP in 2022, up from 3.5 percent in 2019.
“We live in a highly competitive regional and global context,” Al-Khatib added, “therefore, we will continue with changes, and we will never halt them.”
It’s important to note that Saudi Arabia started issuing tourist visas in September of 2019. This was a big move because it was the first time that Saudi Arabia opened its heart and doors to tourists worldwide. Four hundred thousand visas were given out in six months before the government decided to stop travel and close ports and borders in the wake of the pandemic.