Saudi pavilion opens at Berlin tourism expo
BERLIN: Adnan Boustaji, Saudi deputy head of mission to Germany, on Wednesday opened the Kingdom’s pavilion at the 2017 Berlin Stock Exchange for Tourism.
Also present at the opening were the acting cultural attache in Berlin, Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Al-Saleh, and the acting vice president for marketing and programs at the General Authority for Tourism and National Heritage, Abdullah bin Abdulmalik Al-Morshid, who briefed Boustaji on the pavilion’s activities.
Boustaji expressed admiration for the pavilion, which highlights the Kingdom’s tourist sites and history, and stressed the importance of participating in the global forum, the largest of its kind in the world.
He highlighted Saudi efforts to promote tourism and its cultural heritage, and stressed the need to increase tourism investment in the Kingdom via cooperation with global companies in the hospitality and tourism sectors.
Boustaji highlighted the Saudi Embassy’s keenness to cooperate with the tourism authority, which he thanked for its role in preparing the pavilion.
He also thanked Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the General Authority for Tourism and National Heritage, for enabling the Kingdom to participate in the exhibition.
Al-Morshid said the Kingdom’s participation “projects a distinc- tive image of the Kingdom and its tourism and heritage attributes, while increasing the quality of tourism products to meet demand at competitive prices.”
The annual exhibition is an “important opportunity to educate the world about the heritage of the Kingdom and its cultural depth, as well as about the cultural renaissance it is currently witnessing,” he added.
The authority will work at the pavilion to promote tourism among Muslims in many countries, he said.
Participants at the pavilion include Saudi Arabian Airlines, the General Authority for Civil Aviation, King Abdullah Economic City, the National Program for Conferences and Exhibitions, the Guest Houses Co., and several hotels and tourism companies.
Visitors at the expo from around the world can learn more about tourism investment opportunities in the Kingdom.
Saudi students on scholarship in Germany and other European countries can obtain information and printouts about tourism in the Kingdom, which will enable them to promote an accurate and positive image of their country in their areas of study. Al-Saleh urged all scholarship students to visit the expo to benefit from the experience.
More than 200 countries are participating in the exhibition, which covers an area of 160,000 square meters and houses 10,000 exhibitors, including companies and authorities specializing in travel, tourism, aviation, transportation and investment.
The event will be covered by 3,000 journalists. Workshops, lectures and sessions are being held on the sidelines, as well as conferences on travel and tourism.