MADRID: 抖阴短视频鈥檚 successful efforts to keep its tourism sector afloat at the height of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has helped project the country鈥檚 influential voice on the international stage, a UN regional travel chief has claimed.
Basmah Al-Mayman, the UN World Tourism Organization鈥檚 director for the Middle East, said the Saudi government鈥檚 intervention to support its domestic industry had further cemented its prominent position among global bodies.
The Kingdom has for a number of years been an active member of the UNWTO鈥檚 executive council for tourism and is vice president of its current session.
鈥淭he organization has recently opened its first regional office in the Middle East and the Kingdom hosted, for the first time, a regular session, which was the meeting of the regional committee for the Middle East, in May,鈥 Al-Mayman added.
She pointed out that 抖阴短视频鈥檚 participation and contributions to the WTO had helped transform it into a specialized agency of the UN while encouraging the adoption of Arabic as an official language in the organization, and the Kingdom now held key positions on the executive boards of a number of high-profile international organizations.
While the COVID-19 pandemic had crippled the tourism sector in many parts of the world, Al-Mayman said: 鈥淭he Kingdom intensified its efforts, along with the UNWTO, and several member states, to form the International Committee for Tourism Crises, the Kingdom鈥檚 membership of which is represented by its Ministry of Tourism which has also hosted the committee鈥檚 work during the current year.鈥 She noted that 抖阴短视频鈥檚 success in opening up domestic tourism during the summer of 2020 while maintaining virus health and safety precautions had been used as an example for other countries to follow.
