Saudi Tourism Promotes Its All-Season Appeal With New Campaign

Saudi Tourism Authority officially launched its seasonal campaign, Rethink Summer, aimed at promoting the country as a diverse, unique summer destination. Calling Saudi the fastest growing destination worldwide, Ahmed Al Khateeb, minister of tourism and chairman of the Saudi Tourism Authority said the campaign builds on the fact that Saudi has proved to be a yearlong destination for visitors. “Our partners in the private sector are instrumental in this campaign, offering over 1.8 million additional seats for inbound flights, more than 15,000 new hotel rooms, and over 100 products tailored to meet the taste of all our visitors this summer. This is the largest contribution of the private sector yet,” Al Khateeb said. The destination is set to hit significant milestones this year, from the opening of the first three resorts at The Red Sea, an ambitious, regenerative, luxury tourism development, to Neom’s Sindalah Island. Diriyah, the 300-year-old mud city and birthplace of Saudi also recently celebrated the welcoming of one million visitors since its opening in November.

In a bid to position itself as a prominent destination for wellness and therapy, the Ajman Department of Tourism Development has partnered with healthcare company Thumbay Group. Through this agreement, Ajman aims to exchange knowledge and expertise to support medical tourism in the emirate. According to the agreement, Ajman Tourism and Thumbay Group would collaborate to organize medical events and conferences and launch promotional campaigns. The goal is to attract more people to their medical facilities and healthcare centers. The two entities would also participate in health-related exhibitions and workshops and work together to train employees and improve competencies. Medical tourism in Ajman is witnessing a great interest from a wider segment, which in return is encouraging the tourism board to fully support this sector which can impact the overall development of the tourism industry. Last year the emirate also witnessed the opening of the Zoya Health & Wellbeing Resort, the first five-star health resort in the Middle East and Africa.

Last year, United Arab Emirates national carrier Etihad Airways achieved a 26 percent reduction in CO2 emissions per revenue tonne kilometre to 482g compared to a 2019 baseline. The carrier highlighted this in its annual sustainability report, detailing the company's commitment to sustainability and progress towards t