São Paulo – The Arab Ministerial Council for Tourism convened online last Wednesday (17) with delegates from Arab League member countries to reach an agreement on measures intended to get tourism going again across the region.
The 22nd edition of the meeting, organized and chaired by Saudi Arabia, featured a speech by Arab League secretary-general Ahmed Aboul Gheit (pictured above), who stressed the need for concerted efforts from Arab countries to counter the negative effects of the pandemic.
Chaired by Saudi Tourism minister Ahmed Al-Khatib, the meeting saw ministers from across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) discuss how to recover their economies and coordinate regionwide improvements.
Saudi Arabia adopted the safety stamp of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) to encourage safe travels. The UAE shared preparations to reopen, and Egypt outlined investments designed to help industry recovery.
UAE minister of Economy Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori said cooperation in tourism is key in creating procedures that will ensure recovery across the region.
“This is the first time in decades when we have experienced a total or partial lockdown of borders around the world, and almost a complete halt in aviation and restrictions to the movement of millions of people. Therefore, we are hoping that we can overcome this crisis and plan together to support the tourism sectors in our countries, as well as find a joint mechanism to lessen the restrictions on travel during this period,” said Al Mansouri.
Last year, travel and tourism across MENA employed over 4.6 million and added USD 120 billion to countries’ Gross Domestic Products (GDP).
Ahmed Al-Khatib said the Saudi government introduced a stimulus package exceeding USD 61 billion to protect jobs and businesses and ease the burden of the crisis. “This has benefited the local tourism sector, which is considered one of the main economic sectors. The support covered 60 percent of the wages of Saudi private sector employees for three months,” he said.
Al Mansoori discussed key tourism recovery initiatives in the UAE, including “cleaning and disinfection programmes in tourist facilities and issuing guidelines on precautionary procedures and health and safety standards before receiving tourists while the spread of the virus is declining, hotels are re-opening, and economic activities are gradually resuming,” Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.
“The UAE supports the efforts of the World Tourism Organisation, the Arab Tourism Organisation and the World Travel and Tourism Council regarding recovery plans and procedures, Al Mansouri noted while highlighting the UAE’s efforts to mitigate the effects of the current crisis on the tourism sector and ensure its recovers, by providing major economic incentives worth AED282.5 billion,” according to WAM.
Measures were discussed to protect tourists and to work with governments and international organizations on including travel and tourism in economic recovery programs.
The global tourism industry is expected to shrink by 57% and 78% this year – the equivalent of between 850 million and 1.1 billion tourists –, and 120 million industry jobs should be lost, as per estimates from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
With information from Emirates News Agency (WAM) and Arab News.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
