Tourism personalities will meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 27 and 28. But why want to celebrate this day in a country that is still insignificant in terms of tourism? Thanks to its financial power, the country is included in the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization…
More than 500 government officials and tourism experts
This special day, now in its 43rd year, will see industry leaders doing what they do best: coming together to talk about tourism at every opportunity, while building up a considerable carbon footprint.
The theme of the day: Tourism and green investments
According to research from Tourism Watch, the travel and tourism industry performs poorly on sustainability. Current estimates of tourism’s carbon footprint vary, primarily based on emissions by country. But overall, Tourism is responsible for at least five to eight percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and ten to eleven percent of global climate change.
Among the notables of tourism, we note the presence of…
Julia Simpson, Director General of the World Travel and Tourism Council, Banci Ho, Secretary General of the World Tourism Economy Forum, Captain Ibrahim Al-Koshi, CEO of Saudi Arabian Airlines, Pierfrancesco Vago, CEO of MSC Cruises, Greg Webb, CEO of Travelport, and Matthew, CEO of Virtuoso. Other speakers listed include Upchurch and OYO CEO Ritesh Agarwal.
And the Western press? For, against or “no opinion” on tourism in a country that makes headlines in terms of human rights?
To get an idea of the rapid launch of Saudi Arabia as “the” next tourist destination, we recommend reading the articles below. As one might expect, especially after the attacks on the Twin Towers, the Anglo-Saxon press is particularly skeptical about the good intentions of the Saudis. France, which has always maintained fairly ambiguous relations with oil-producing countries that are not very democratic, avoids conflicts through the press… We suggest you start with this report from Human Rights Watch:
https://www.hrw.org/fr/news/2020/10/02/arabie-saoudite-la-strategie-dembellissement-dimage-vise-dissimuler-les-abus
Then the articles:
- – from the Belgian media RTBF: https://www.rtbf.be/article/larabie-saoudite-ssais-de-devenir-une-destination-touristique-tendance-11147291
- – of BBC News; what is there to see in Saudi Arabia? : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50013068
- – of New York Times on the type of North American tourist targeted by the Gulf country: evangelists, not Catholics https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/24/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-christian-tourists.html
