Saudi Arabia will host the 22nd WTTC Global Summit
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has announced that Saudi Arabia will be the next country to host its annual Global Summit. This year, the Middle Eastern country will host the 22nd edition in the capital Riyadh. The Saudi nation is set to host a world-renowned event between 28 November and 1 December 2022 and promises to bring great opportunities for the region.
This has been announced by the WTCC in a statement in conjunction with the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Tourism. The summit will bring together world leaders and key government representatives from the tourism industry. The main objective of this meeting is to bring together all these personalities to take charge of improving and strengthening global tourism and the opportunities that this sector exerts in the world.
Julia Simpson, president and CEO of the tourism institution, praised Saudi Arabia's efforts in the growth of tourism, which is why it has been chosen to host the event. For the WTTC, the Middle Eastern nation has made unprecedented achievements in the industry. The leadership of Ahmed al-Khateeb, the Saudi Minister of Tourism, has also been praised for being primarily responsible for driving tourism growth through investments described by the body as "unprecedented". However, the minister has also developed a series of measures that have fostered new approaches to developing tourism in the region and attracting visitors to the eastern country.
The event is expected to lead to significant growth in Saudi Arabia. According to WTTC's latest Economic Impact Report (EIR), the country's travel and tourism sector is set to grow at an average annual rate of 11% over the next decade. Thus, the growth of this industry will be the fastest growing of all the nations located in the Middle East.
Thanks to the efforts of this region, the countries of the Middle East are beginning to be recognised globally and are carving out a niche for themselves in the international economy. This can be seen through the fact that people are becoming aware of the importance of these nations and the benefits of investing in the region and hosting world-class events. The past Dubai Expo 2020, which has resulted in large revenues for the United Arab Emirates, or the next football World Cup, which will take place in Qatar and aims to reap great economic dividends, stand out.
The WTTC is a non-profit organisation, based in Madrid, which has been working for more than 30 years to improve the tourism sector. According to its own website and according to Atalayar, the institution has been responsible for producing numerous studies on the economic impact of tourism in 185 countries that have allowed them to develop in a more efficient and beneficial way. Among its functions, they are responsible for addressing issues of improvement and modernisation of the industry related to massification, taxation and the development of new policies that mark the importance of tourism as one of the main contributors to the global economy.
Over the past two years, the WTTC has played an important role in stopping the coronavirus crisis, which has brought the global tourism sector to a standstill. Among its main objectives is to create measures to address this situation and restore confidence in this important industry for the international economy.
Riyadh joins a list of cities that have been charged with coordinating and leading the WTTC summit. According to Europa Press, these include Beijing, Las Vegas, Tokyo, Abu Dhabi, Madrid, Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Seville, Cancun and the Philippines. The events have been attended by world leaders who have participated in the event to promote the importance of tourism in the world. It is worth highlighting the presence of some leaders such as former US presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, former Argentinean President Mauricio Macri, and even the Spanish monarch himself, King Felipe VI.
