The 25th session of the Executive Office of the Arab Ministerial Council for Tourism and the 22nd session of the Council of Arab Tourism Ministers were concluded here today under the chairmanship of Ahmed bin Aqil Al-Khatib, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, and in the presence of Arab tourism ministers and a number of Arab and international organizations. Al-Khatib pointed out that the meeting confirms the importance of joint Arab action in the field of tourism, saying that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the rest of Arab countries have available opportunities to advance this sector and turn it into an important source to support the economies of Arab countries. "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia works according to a national strategy that seeks to convert tourism into a huge investment sector that achieves returns of 10% of national income and contributes to reducing unemployment to 6% by providing about one million additional job opportunities by 2030, and we look forward in the Kingdom to become the fifth country that embraces tourists worldwide, attracting about 100 million visit in 2030," Al-Khatib said. The meeting discussed the challenges of tourism security, and reviewed the updated draft of the Arab Tourism Strategy Document, as well as the decisions of the second joint meeting that was held in Tunisia in October 2019 and included tourism ministers and culture ministers. Members of the Executive Office of Arab Ministerial Council for Tourism were elected for 2020 and 2021, namely the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco, Iraq, Egypt and Tunisia. It was agreed that the 26th session of the Executive Office will be held in Cairo in 2020, and Manama City was chosen as the capital of Arab tourism in 2020.
