His Excellency the Minister of Tourism and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Tourism Authority, Mr. Ahmed bin Aqeel Al-Khatib, chairs; The delegation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia participating in this global forum, accompanied by a number of sector leaders and officials, presents the “spirit of Saudi Arabia” through this important international event. Hundreds of tourism products ready to be booked for destinations such as Jeddah, Al-Ula, and the Red Sea, and a number of offers that reflect the depth of heritage, natural and cultural diversity, and multiple options of packages and offers, with abundant momentum and a rich agenda of qualitative and international events, which are held around the Kingdom, throughout the year.
On this occasion, His Excellency Mr. Ahmed bin Aqeel Al-Khatib, Minister of Tourism and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Tourism Authority, said: “This distinguished participation in the ITB Berlin 2024 exhibition comes to consolidate the position and leadership of the Kingdom on the global tourism map, and to enhance the efforts of the Saudi tourism system and its partners from the government and private sectors to… Continuing the growth, development and sustainability of the Saudi tourism sector.” His Excellency the Minister adds: “We are proud to have achieved one of the goals of the tourism sector that is in harmony with Saudi Vision 2030, by reaching 100 million tourists annually, seven years before its scheduled date, and with it the ceiling of ambition has been raised towards new horizons of reaching To 150 million tourists annually by the year 2030.” His Excellency the Minister added: “We feel proud and proud of what the Saudi hospitality and culture of welcome and honoring the guest represents, witnessed by the authentic Saudi people. It is one of the most important components of Saudi tourism, which we seek to highlight and consolidate at all times, destinations and products.” .
Mr. Fahd Hamid Al-Din, CEO and member of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Tourism Authority, also stated: “Our participation in the second consecutive edition of the ITB Berlin exhibition confirms our commitment to our trade partners on the European continent in general and the German market in particular, to enable them to build bridges of communication.” With the Kingdom as a leading tourist destination in the world,” the CEO added: “The Kingdom received more than 950,000 tourists from European markets during the year 2023, an increase of 65% compared to 2022, and the number of tourists from Germany in the year 2023 increased by 61% compared to In the previous year, our participation in this important event comes in order to consolidate our previous successes and cooperate closely with our partners to achieve more.”
This participation comes at a time when the Saudi tourism sector is witnessing rapid growth, as the number of arriving tourists has increased by 56% in the year 2023. Compared to the year 2019, the Kingdom is currently connected to 36 European cities, and it is expected to launch more than 10 new routes during the current year 2024, in exchange for the expansion of strategic partnerships with the most important international airlines, including: ITA Airways and LOT Polish.
