Photo: Fayez Nureldine / AFP Getty Images
Photo: Fayez Nureldine / AFP Getty Images
Photo: Fayez Nureldine / AFP Getty Images
Saudi Arabia is preparing for an immediate recovery in tourism and has not revised its visitor targets by 2021 despite the coronavirus pandemic, Tourism Minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb said.
As the government prepares to reopen its borders to foreign tourists in January, the kingdom is using its presidency of the Group of 20’s largest economies to facilitate the resumption of the world, Al-Khateeb said in an interview Saturday.
Ahmed Al-Khateeb
Source: Government of Saudi Arabia
“If countries open their borders today, we can run fast, and that’s the plan,” said Al-Khateeb, a key adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “We believe that other people want and will continue to do so. We want countries to coordinate their actions. “
The pandemic forced Saudi Arabia to close its borders in March, thwarting the government’s ambitions to expand its industry six months after allowing tourists to make a stopover in the country for the first time. has surpassed official forecasts and helped offset the decline, he said.
Tourism is a component of Saudi Arabia’s plans to diversify the oil-dependent economy. The virus has devastated the industry around the world, and the World Travel and Tourism Council forecasts the loss of a hundred million jobs.
Official tourism targets for next year have not changed, Al-Khateeb said, and the government is still planning to expand the sector to account for 10% of economic production by 2030.
“We have built the ecosystem, we have foreign campaigns in one position, we have evolved the delight of the guests and we are able to capture the numbers we promised to capture,” he said.
Al-Khateeb told Reuters in April that Saudi tourism could decline by up to 45% this year. As the recreational is so new, the government granted about 500,000 visas before ending its borders, tourism is basically made up of Devout Islamic pilgrimages, which were suspended. March.
A billboard of the Saudi Arabian Tourist Office, the sheikh in Dubai.
Photo: Christopher Pike / Bloomberg
Since then, a 50% larger build-up at the national level than officials has helped save businesses and jobs, Al-Khateeb said.
Ten sites where the government decided to announce summer trips generated 8. 6 billion riyars ($2. 3 billion) from June 25 to August 31, 31% more than last year, Al-Khateeb said. The rate of hotel occupancy at these sites increased to about 80% in the summer, compared to only 5% earlier in the pandemic, he added.
A $4 billion tourism progression fund established through the government in June signed its first agreement a few days ago and has “five projects pending before the end of the year,” Al-Khateeb said. Al Oula Group to fund progression of five-star hotel operated through Fairmont Hotels
The country unveiled its first cruise last month: the maiden voyage stopped after an alleged case of coronavirus, and crossings have resumed ever since.
Saudi Arabia has reported about 330,000 cases of coronavirus since the onset of the pandemic. New daily cases have declined by 90% since the peak reached in June. The still relatively low mortality rate soared to 1. 4% on Saturday from 0. 5% in May.