"TRAVEL AND TOURISM BUILDS DIVERSIFIED AND RESILIENT ECONOMIES": SAUDI ARABIA MINISTER OF TOURISM, HIS EXCELLENCY AHMED AL-KHATEEB, TELLS WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM ANNUAL MEETING IN DAVOS

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 27 (Bernama) -- The Travel and Tourism sector’s essential contribution to shaping the global landscape was underscored at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos this week with His Excellency Ahmed A. Al-Khateeb, Saudi Arabia Minister of Tourism, urging world leaders to provide the industry with the focus and collaborative solutions it deserves.

Saudi Arabia welcomed nearly 30 million international visitors in 2024 and contributed almost 5% to the Kingdom’s GDP. In dedicated WEF sessions on travel and tourism, His Excellency, who attended Davos as part of the official Saudi Arabia WEF Delegation, highlighted the Kingdom’s unprecedented growth rates. He stressed the critical role that tourism has in building diversified and resilient economies, emphasizing that when Saudi Vision 2030 unlocked the travel and tourism sector, the Kingdom began building a holistic tourism experience based on international collaboration, best practices, and sustainable development.