TOLEDO, SPAIN — A high-level Saudi delegation, led by Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb, held extensive talks with French and Indonesian delegations led by tourism ministers with regard to further deepening bilateral cooperation and partnership in the vital tourism sector. The meetings were held on the sidelines of the 126th session of the Executive Council of the United Nations Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in Toledo, Spain on Thursday. During their meeting, Al-Khateeb and French Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises, Trade, Crafts, Tourism and Purchasing Power Serge Papin discussed the longstanding strategic relationship between Saudi Arabia and France in the tourism sector. They emphasized this vital sector’s importance as a key driver of prosperity and economic growth. They also explored ways to strengthen collaboration in support of shared priorities, including sustainable growth, destination competitiveness, investment attraction, and knowledge exchange.During the meeting, the two sides signed a joint action program aimed at translating shared priorities into practical initiatives to advance the tourism sectors in Saudi Arabia and France. The joint action program outlines several priority areas of collaboration, including developing tourism human capital through training, exchanging best practices, and strategic workforce planning. The program also encourages tourism investment cooperation, with a focus on promoting investment opportunities and facilitating partnerships.Additionally, the program promotes cooperation in sustainable tourism development by sharing expertise in tourism flow management and supporting the sustainable management of natural resources in hospitality industries. It also includes collaboration on innovation and newtechnologies between French tech startups and Saudi tourism stakeholders, encouraging the adoption of innovative solutions and digital technologies in tourism, and promoting stakeholder participation in technology and digital innovation forums.The joint action program also covers cooperation on data and statistics by facilitating knowledge exchange on tourism data collection and analysis, and by initiating dialogue on the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in processing tourism data. Other areas of the program include sharing expertise on organizing international events and promoting knowledge exchange between the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) and Atout France in destination marketing.The program builds on the ongoing collaboration between Saudi Arabia and France and reflects both countries’ commitment to elevating their partnership from institutional dialogue to implementation-focused cooperation. The joint action program between Saudi Arabia and France is an example of bilateral cooperation between leading global destinations. France is recognized as the world’s most visited country, welcoming more than 100 million international visitors in 2024. During their meeting, Minister Al-Khateeb and his Indonesian counterpart Widiyanti Putri Wardhana discussed ways to strengthen bilateral tourism cooperation, expand visitor flows, and build on the longstanding ties between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.Speaking on the occasion, Al-Khateeb said that Saudi Arabia and Indonesia share a uniquely strong tourism connection through faith and culture. “We are now working closely with our Indonesian partners to enrich that connection, expand tourism exchange, enhance the visitor journey, and create opportunities for our destinations, businesses and communities,” he said. On his part, Widiyanti Putri Wardhana said: "Saudi Arabia is one of Indonesia’s key partners in the Middle East, and Indonesia stands ready to further deepen this partnership, particularly in tourism, in a spirit of mutual respect and shared benefit.”During the meeting, the ministers reaffirmed the importance of the Saudi-Indonesian tourism partnership and reviewed the progress made under the existing Memorandum of Understanding. Additionally, the delegations explored opportunities to expand Indonesian visitor flows to Saudi Arabia across religious and leisure tourism, discussing ways to enrich the journeys of Indonesia’s Hajj and Umrah visitors by introducing them to Saudi Arabia’s wider experiences and destinations beyond Makkah and Madinah.Indonesia is preparing to welcome more Saudi tourists. To achieve this, Indonesia has proposed the establishment of Arabic and Hospitality Centers at the Lombok Tourism Polytechnic. This initiative aims to enhance the professional competencies of the Indonesian tourism workforce to better serve and accommodate Arab tourists.The bilateral meeting was held on the sidelines of the 126th session of the UN Tourism Executive Council, of which both countries are active members, driving collective action and ensuring sustainability, resilience, and inclusion are at the heart of the global tourism sector.
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