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Doha’
A Qatari delegation led by Secretary General of Qatar National Tourism Council and Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker attended the Tourism Recovery Summit in Riyadh on May 26. The summit shed light on the obstacles impeding the sector’s recovery and sustainability, reinforcing coordination between the public and private sectors to assist the sector in recovering from the pandemic’s effects.
Zurab Pololikashvili, secretary general of UNWTO, and a number of tourism ministers from various countries, as well as key figures from the public and private sectors, attended the summit. Tourism has been hit the hardest by the pandemic and associated border closures, with 60 million jobs lost by 2020 as a result of the pandemic. As a result, the summit’s main topics of discussion were sector recovery and sustainability.
Akbar Al-Baker attended several high-level meetings to discuss the sector’s future. He met with HE Ahmed bin Aqil Al Khateeb, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Tourism Minister, and HH Princess Haifa bint Mohammed Al Saud, Deputy Minister of Tourism for Strategy and Investment. The parties discussed bilateral relations between their respective countries, with a particular emphasis on tourism. Al-Baker also met with Mr. Pololikashvili to discuss the continuation of QNTC’s collaboration with the UNWTO.
Previous efforts resulted in the launch of several initiatives aimed at developing the tourism sector both locally and globally, such as the world’s first digital tourism academy and the first global Sports Tourism Start-Up Competition.
Several new initiatives, including an International Fund for Inclusive Tourism, were announced at the Summit. It is the first fund dedicated to supporting the growth of global tourism, and it was created in collaboration with the World Bank.
The UNWTO will also establish its first regional office in the Middle East, coordinating policies and initiatives across 13 Middle Eastern countries. Its mandate will include enhancing tourism offerings and sustainable development, gathering key sector statistics, sharing information, and encouraging investment in tourism assets, as well as developing tourism-related health policies.
The participation of QNTC emphasises the importance of sector recovery efforts being coordinated and facilitating the safe resumption of international travel and tourism.
Qatar Airways, a pioneer in covid-related track and trace technology, was one of the first airlines in the world to test a digital health passport. It is a bespoke application developed in collaboration with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) that allows travellers to compile their covid health information, allowing for greater flexibility and convenience while traveling.
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30/05/2021
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