UAE participates in 122nd session of UNWTO Executive Council in Colombia

The Ministry of Economy (MoEc) participated in the 122nd session of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Executive Council in Colombia, led by Badreya Al Maidoor, Assistant Under-Secretary for Support Services at the Ministry of Economy.

The meeting was aimed at fostering cooperation among member states to bolster the sustainability of the tourism sector at regional and global levels. It highlighted the importance of implementing initiatives that offer unique and diverse tourism experiences across various destinations.

Badreya Al Maidoor underlined the UAE’s continued support for global endeavours aimed at achieving sustainable tourism development and facilitating the exchange of best practices and policies, particularly in light of the global climate and environmental changes.

She emphasised the importance of embracing sustainable solutions, innovation, and technology in the tourism sector, recognising their crucial role in preserving heritage and historical sites, as well as unique tourism destinations. This approach is key to supporting the sector’s continuous development in line with international best practices.

In her speech at the meeting, Al Maidoor said, “The UAE continues to work, in cooperation with the UNWTO, on the ‘Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism’ in line with its vision to enhance the national tourism sector’s sustainability. The objective is to create an attractive national tourism environment, offer top-notch tourism services, and develop state-of-the-art infrastructure. This framework particularly seeks to enhance the aggregation of more efficient and accurate tourism data through cutting-edge technology.”

“Global tourism is experiencing a robust revival since the start of this year, with the Middle East region constantly achieving favourable growth results in various tourism domains. This provides us with an ideal opportunity to adopt innovative approaches that drive the sector’s growth to new heights of regional and global advancement and success,” she added.

Al Maidoor emphasised the adaptability of the UAE tourism sector and its increasing role in the country’s GDP growth. Also highlighted was the UAE’s commitment to sustainable practices and promoting digital transformation in the tourism sector, along with ensuring the delivery of superior services and offerings in the field.

Additionally, the Assistant Under-Secretary shed light on the UAE’s vision for tourism growth and development through the achievement of the goals outlined in the ‘UAE Tourism Strategy 2031’. It seeks to enhance the competitiveness of the national tourism offerings, elevate the UAE’s standing as the best global tourism destination, increase the sector’s contribution to the national GDP to Dhs 450 billion, attract additional tourism investments worth Dhs 100 billion, and draw 40 million guests to the UAE’s hotel establishments.

WAM