YOUTH AND TOURISM FORUM CONCLUDED SUCCESSFULLY
KUWAIT: The First Kuwaiti Youth and Tourism Forum, held recently under the patronage of State Minister for Cabinet Affairs and acting Information Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, has concluded successfully, said Nabila Al-Anjeri, head of the organizing committee and General Manager of Leaders Group for Consultancy and Development (UNWTO representative in Kuwait).
Participants agreed on a number of findings and made several recommendations during the forum, Anjeri added. These recommendations were made with the goal of linking the tourism sector with sustainable development, as well as youth ideas and modern technology.
Further, Anjeri stressed that both officials and speakers agreed to link youth future with opportunities provided by small projects. They also agreed that tourism development has become a financial and economic necessity. “The speakers also stressed the need to encourage Kuwaiti youth to take initiatives and start their own small touristic businesses using digital technologies,” she added. In addition, she noted that participants reviewed the work achieved in the state’s fourth guiding plan, and recommended building new touristic sites and developing natural reserves and conservations, especially with expectations that Kuwait’s population will grow to six million people by 2030. Moreover, the forum recommended founding a special authority for tourism, something that had already been included in the Tourism Strategic plan over ten years earlier.
In addition to herself and Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah, Anjeri said that the list of speakers also included Undersecretary of the Ministry of Youth Affairs Sheikha Al-Zain Al-Sabah, the Interior Ministry’s Assistant Undersecretary Major General Sheikh Mazen Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, Head of the Kuwait National Fund for Small and Medium Enterprise Development Dr Mohammed Al-Zuhair, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research’s Director Dr Samira Al-Sayyed Omar, UNTWO advisor on technology and innovation Professor Antonio Lopez De Avlia, Smartvel Founder and CEO Inigo Valenzuela Cossio, Engineer Phoebe Al-Salem, Fares Al-Enezi from the Manpower and Government Restructuring Program (MGRP), Abdul Wahab Al-Essa from Al-Watan TV, Faith Capital CEO Mohammed Jaafar, the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage’s Advisor Dr Monther Al-Ansari and former director of Kuwait Small Projects Development Company Hassan Al-Qena’ee.