Fatima bint Jaafar Al-Sirafi, Minister of Tourism, headed the delegation of the Kingdom of Bahrain participating in the work of the Executive Council of the United Nations Tourism Organization, which was held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on the sidelines of the twenty-sixth session of the Organization’s General Assembly.
She indicated the Kingdom of Bahrain’s keenness to align the goals of the tourism sector with global trends, thus contributing to achieving the tourism strategy 2022-2026.
The Minister also noted that the Middle East region recorded a growth in the tourism sector by 29% compared to before the pandemic, which is the strongest performance among all regions of the world, according to the World Tourism Organization report that was discussed within the Executive Council sessions, which reflects the strength of the recovery of the tourism sector in the region and its growing role in the global economy.
Noting the importance of enhancing international cooperation and exchanging experiences in the global tourism sector to ensure balanced and sustainable growth for this vital sector.
The agenda of the twenty-fourth session of the Executive Council discussed a set of strategic files about the future of the global tourism sector and the prospects for its development in light of the rapid technological transformations, including expanding partnerships, developing internal governance, supporting sustainability, and innovation in tourism.
The Council also reviewed the strategic plan for the sustainable development of tourism, which aims to make the sector a major driver of economic development and sustainable recovery globally, in addition to implementing the general program of work for the period 2024-2025.
On the sidelines of the General Assembly’s work, the Minister held a bilateral meeting with Mr. Gao Zhang, Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of the friendly People’s Republic of China, during which the latest developments in the tourism cooperation agreement concluded between the two countries were discussed, and ways to develop strategic partnerships and enhance mutual promotion were discussed, which would contribute to opening new horizons for attracting tourists from the promising Chinese market.
The Minister also met with Mr. Nazarbekov Akhmedovich, Minister of Culture of the sisterly Republic of Uzbekistan, where the meeting discussed the prospects for tourism cooperation, the exchange of experiences and best practices in developing the tourism sector, while emphasizing the importance of expanding areas of joint work, which contributes to raising the rates of intra-tourism and enhancing the position of the two countries on the regional and international tourism map.
