Tourism Minister holds work meeting with WTTC Chief Executive

Bali, Sept. 27 (BNA): Minister of Tourism Fatima bint Jafar Al Sairafi held a work meeting with Chief Executive of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), on the sidelines of her participation in the World Tourism Organisation (WTO)’s meetings in Bali, Indonesia, marking the World Tourism Day. The minister affirmed Bahrain’s keenness to build bridges of fruitful partnership with the international tourism organisations. She pointed out the kingdom’s efforts to support the international trends to speed up recovery of the global tourism sector and restore the growth rates in the pre-pandemic period. She presented a briefing on the distinguished capabilities of the tourism sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain, pointing out the ambitious goals of the tourism strategy 2022-2026. For her part, the WTTC Chief Executive Julia Simpson commended the active participation of the Kingdom of Bahrain, represented by the Ministry of Tourism, in regional and international events pertaining to the tourism sector. She commended the Bahraini government’s support to tourism out of belief in the capability of the sector to contribute to economic and human development. She mentioned particularly the establishment of Bahrain International Exhibition Centre which will undoubtedly constitute a new and leading destination for various exhibitions, events and conferences makers. Both sides discussed during the meeting the role of the travel and tourism sector in invigorating the global economy, especially in light of the expectations that this sector will grow at twice the speed of the global economy over the next ten years. They pointed out the sector’s ability to create more than 126 million jobs worldwide over the next decade.