The Minister of Tourism heads the Kingdom’s delegation participating in the United Nations Sustainability Week

His Excellency the Minister of Tourism – Chairman of the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization – Mr. Ahmed bin Aqeel Al-Khatib, headed the delegation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia participating in the United Nations Sustainability Week, which was held at the headquarters of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, in the presence of His Excellency the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Dennis Francis, and His Excellency Secretary-General of the United Nations Tourism Organization, Zurab Pololikashvili.
His Excellency the Minister of Tourism explained during the Kingdom’s speech at the opening session, that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia sought during the past two years with member states, in its capacity as Chairman of the Executive Council of the United Nations Tourism Organization, to enhance the representation of the travel and tourism sector in international forums, indicating that this support contributed to the launch of the United Nations Organization. United Tourism, in cooperation with the Kingdom, has launched a package of initiatives to achieve this goal, such as the Best Tourist Villages Award, the Tourism Illuminating Minds Initiative, and the formation of a work team to redesign the future of tourism, noting that the Kingdom’s efforts have contributed to including the tourism sector in the agenda items of Sustainability Week at the United Nations.
He stressed that the Kingdom, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister – may God protect them – has become one of the most promising and most attractive tourist destinations for tourists in the world. The Kingdom topped the United Nations World Tourism list in terms of growth in the number of international tourists in 2023 for major tourism countries, in addition to topping the G20 countries in the number of international tourists, and was able to receive more than (27) million international tourists, indicating that the Kingdom has begun developing its plans. And its strategies to receive more than (70) million international tourists by 2030 AD.
His Excellency reiterated the Kingdom’s commitment to sustainable development in the tourism sector, through its focus on implementing sustainable tourism projects, ensuring a positive impact on the climate, environment and local communities, such as the “NEOM Project and the Red Sea Project.”
His Excellency said: “The Kingdom has taken steps to launch the World Center for Sustainable Tourism. “With the aim of accelerating the travel and tourism sector’s transition to climate neutrality, protecting nature, and empowering communities around the world,” he expressed his happiness with the existing cooperation in this regard with His Excellency Patricia Spanoza, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
His Excellency the Minister of Tourism drew attention to the great efforts made by the Kingdom to confront the environmental impacts of the travel and tourism sector, noting that these efforts contributed to the World Travel and Tourism Council and the World Center for Sustainable Tourism, with the support of the Kingdom, issuing the latest results of the report on the environmental impacts of the travel and tourism sector, indicating that it was done for the first time. This is the first in the sector’s history to measure the contribution of travel and tourism to global carbon emissions, at approximately 8% of emissions around the world.
His Excellency Ahmed Al-Khatib stated that the Kingdom seeks, by the year 2030, to achieve nationally determined contributions to reduce carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by more than (278) million tons annually, protect (30%) of the terrestrial and marine areas in the Kingdom, and plant more than (600) million trees. .
At the conclusion of his speech, His Excellency the Minister of Tourism expressed the Kingdom’s aspiration for the combined efforts of all countries of the world and their openness to joint cooperation in order to achieve targeted sustainable development in the global travel and tourism sector, hoping that the Kingdom’s message will be conveyed to the world through this important event to preserve the environment and lead and support it. Transforming tourism into an environmentally friendly industry that supports communities and countries.