Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH – The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has announced that its 22nd Global Summit will take place at the end of next year in Riyadh.

The event is considered the world’s foremost travel and tourism event. Its location in Saudi Arabia will reflect how the Kingdom has been able to redesign and prioritize tourism to make it safer, more sustainable and more inclusive.

New research has shown that tourism in the Middle East is growing faster than in Europe and Latin America, set to grow over 27 percent by the end of this year.

Minister for Tourism Ahmed Al Khateeb welcomed the decision to choose Saudi Arabia as the host country for the next WTTC Global Summit in 2022.

“This is a critical forum for the private sector and government to come together to redesign tourism for the future, and it is fantastic to hold this event in the Kingdom.”

“This is recognition of Saudi leadership to help the global tourism sector recover, and importantly, become more sustainable. I look forward to welcoming all WTTC Members next year,” Al Khateeb said.

The event in Saudi Arabia will follow the next highly anticipated Global Summit which is taking place in Manila, Philippines, from 14-16 March 2022.

Speaking from the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, WTTC President & CEO, Julia Simpson said: “Since the very beginning, when the pandemic brought international travel to an almost complete standstill, Saudi Arabia has shown its total commitment to our sector, ensuring it has remained at the forefront of the global agenda.”

“It has been instrumental in leading the recovery of a sector which is critical to economies, jobs and livelihoods around the world.”

“For that we are grateful and want to recognise their incredible efforts by bringing the Global Travel & Tourism sector to the Kingdom next year,” she added.