Saudi Arabia will be exhibiting at World Travel Market for the first time this year, as the Saudi government unveils plans to invest heavily into its tourism industry over the next decade. 
Representation from the Saudi Commission for Tourism & Antiquities (SCTA), along with the country’s national airline Saudi Airlines and flynas, the leading low -cost Saudi airline offering cheap flights to the Middle East, Europe and Asia, will all be exhibiting at WTM in London from 3rd – 6th November 2014.
The plan for the Saudi government to invest over €22 billion in tourism from 2013 to 2023 was reported last year in a MENA tourism and hospitality report by research consultancy Aranca. Their main objectives are to provide employment opportunities for the many Saudi graduates and cope with the increasing number of visitors, which is estimated to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 2% to 21.3 million over the next decade.
The SCTA recently announced its €2.3 million plan to set-up tourist information centres across the country to provide information on domestic events.
Hamad Alsheikh, Vice Presidnt for Marketing and Programmes at the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, said: “At WTM Saudi aims to highlight the historic potentials of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a crossroad of civilisations through displaying part of its history, heritage, achievements and tourism potentials by way of print material and direct communication.
“We plan to highlight and introduce the existing tourism investments in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in different fields, especially in the convention and exhibition sector and accommodation sector, in addition to other tourism and investment areas.”
