Thus, the year 2022 became exceptional in the development of the tourism sector in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia launched a series of initiatives and programs to develop the tourism sector during the year 2022.

This comes as part of the accelerated efforts to upgrade the tourism sector to occupy an advanced position at the regional and global levels.

2022 was an exceptional year for the tourism sector in the Kingdom, as it set records in terms of the growth of tourists and the number of new hotel rooms, in addition to global partnerships that put the sector on the right track to achieve its goals for the year 2030.

The new tourism system, which was approved by the Saudi Council of Ministers in August, is the most significant achievement in terms of the regulatory and legislative environment for the sector.

The system is based on international best practices based on the index of the top 10 countries in the competitiveness of travel and tourism issued by the World Economic Forum.

The system included managing the process of granting licenses, issuing permits for experimental tourism activities, providing a package of procedures for crisis management, providing financial guarantees for some tourism activities, in addition to establishing an information database aimed at providing data and statistics on the sector.

The year 2022 also witnessed the launch of the “Tourism Pioneers” program, which aims to develop the capabilities of 100,000 young Saudi men and women, and provide them with basic skills in the field of hospitality and travel.

Participants in the program will benefit from training scholarships in the most prominent local and international institutes in countries including France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

In terms of enhancing the sector’s image globally, Riyadh hosted the largest edition of the World Travel and Tourism Council’s World Summit, which was attended by 5,700 participants, including 250 CEOs of major travel and hospitality companies in the world.

The strengthening of international partnerships also witnessed the support of the Saudi Tourism Authority, which was active in promoting the Kingdom in international conferences, including the World Travel Market in London, which witnessed the signing of 11 international partnerships with institutions such as agoda and Lufthansa.

And with some of the major Saudi projects starting to receive the first visitors in 2023, the tourism agenda for Saudi Arabia will be full of achievements in the new year.