World Tourism Day 2023 highlights the importance of green investments

Posted On: September 29, 2023

On World Tourism Day 2023, leaders from all regions of the world were united by a shared desire to invest in the growth and transformation of the sector. About the topic “Green tourism and investments”The celebrations of this Day held around the world had, this year, an unprecedented scale and influence.

The whole world comes to Riyadh

The official celebrations organized this year by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh brought together more than 50 Ministers of Tourism and several hundred high-ranking representatives from the public and private sectors. UNWTO Member States and other tourism stakeholders around the world also participated by celebrating this Day in their own countries. In their welcome speeches, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili and Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al Khateeb highlighted the need for the entire sector to increase investments for the benefit of Humanity, the planet and prosperity..

Tourism must lead the way to accelerate the shift towards greater resilience and greater sustainability.

When the celebrations opened, His Excellency Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb He reaffirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to the development of tourism and its strong support for the UNWTO mission, saying: “It is a privilege and an honor to host World Tourism Day in Riyadh. We can rejoice in the strong recovery recorded after the pandemic, but let us also try to look decisively to the future. A future where countries large and small can achieve incredible things together. Let us all advance, in the same movement, towards a new horizon for global tourism. »

UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “Tourism must lead the way to accelerate the shift towards greater resilience and greater sustainability. To do this, we need more and adequate investment: this is the central message of this year’s World Tourism Day, and it is a message carried by the official host of the celebrations, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and conveyed by our Members across the world. world. world. »

Focus on tourism investments

To discuss the issue of green investments in tourism, the program of the official World Tourism Day celebrations included a series of expert debates, each dedicated to a key priority of the moment for the sector. These priorities included: investing in people, focusing on education and employment; invest in destinations, particularly in new destinations and new products to reduce overcrowding and diversify the beneficial effects; invest in innovation and entrepreneurship; and invest in green transformation.

Expert-led discussions, contributed by tourism ministers and business and financial leaders, were complemented by strong measures, and UNWTO announced several important initiatives:

UNWTO Secretary-General Pololikashvili and Saudi Minister of Tourism Al Khateeb jointly revealed their plans to open a new Riyadh School of Tourism and Hospitality. The School will offer educational programs at eight different levels, from certificates to training at the bachelor’s and master’s levels, with a specific focus on closing the current skills gap in tourism.
The UNWTO announced the winners of the first edition of the Competition Women from tech startups. The winning companies led by women were selected based on their important action in favor of tourism for development and their potential for scalability. All will benefit from the support and mentoring of the UNWTO Innovation Network.