The Diplomat
UN Tourism’s Member States from across the Middle East have met again to guide the continued growth of the sector across the region. The 51st session of the Regional Commission welcomed high-level delegations from 13 Member States, including eight Ministers of Tourism to assess achievements, analyse sector trends and focus on key priorities.
The Middle East finished 2024 as the region with fastest recovery from the impacts of the pandemic in the world. UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili paid special recognition of the Commission’s hosts, Qatar, which is on track to hit its target of welcoming 6 million tourists a year and growing tourism’s contribution to GDP to 12%.
“The Middle East stands out as one of the most exciting places for tourism right now. The region is a leader in fields such as luxury tourism, wellness tourism and sports tourism, and is also at the forefront of vital work to grow investments into the sector and provide education and training for millions of future tourism workers,” Secretary-General Pololikashvili said.
The reports of the Secretary-General and the Regional Director for the Middle East, focused on UN Tourism’s work to support Members develop talent through education and professional development. Key achievement include:
- 30,000 students – more than half of them women – have now signed up to the UN Tourism Online Academy, which offers 50 courses from 18 academic partners, including new courses just finalised with the support of Saudi Arabia.
- The UN Tourism Education Toolkit for tourism in High Schools is being implemented in the United Arab Emirates.
- 10 new courses have been added to the Human Capital Development by E-Learning Project with Saudi Arabia. The platform has also been upgraded to integrate Artificial Intelligence.
Together with its Member States, UN Tourism is advancing education-related activities across the region. Notably, in Saudi Arabia, the Riyadh School of Tourism and Hospitality is training tourism professionals and giving them relevant skills to lead the sector forward.
Sports Tourism key pillar of diversification
In Doha, the growing relevance of sports tourism as a tool for economic diversification was made clear, with the success of the Qatar FIFA World Cup of 2022 presented as a model for other destinations to follow.
The FIFA World Cup, Formula 1 races in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, the Dakar rally in Saudi Arabia, and the acquisition of major football players and teams from around the world – were all recognized as helping make the Middle East one of the most exciting and influential regions in world sports and sports tourism right now. The relevance of this part of the sector was further reflected in the hosting of a special one-day conference on Sports Tourism and the Tourism Industry After the World Cup within the framework of the Regional Commission.
Reflecting UN Tourism’s commitment to strengthening resilience and creating opportunities through diversification, the significant potential of wellness tourism for the region was also emphasized. Equally, the growing importance of gastronomy tourism as a pillar of rural development and cultural heritage was underscored.
Regional cooperation on display
In accordance with the statutory obligations of the Commission, Member States confirmed key appointments for the years ahead. In a spirit of regional fraternity, Members agreed that Kuwait will serve as Chair as the Regional Commission for 2025-27, with Qatar as first Vice-Chair and Iraq as second Vice-Chair. Egypt and the UAE will sit on the UN Tourism Executive Council (2025-29).
Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will sit on the Committee on Tourism Online Education (2025-29) and the UAE will sit on the Technical Committee for the International Code for the Protection of Tourists for the same period.
To conclude, Members agreed that the 52nd Regional Commission for the Middle East will be held in the city of Kuwait, Kuwait, in 2026.
