Breaking Ground
Basmah Al-Mayman, Regional Director for the Middle East at UNWTO, is representing the region on a global stage for the worldwide tourism agency. As the sector recovers from the worst global crisis it has faced in recent history, she’s spearheading change from its first-ever office in Riyadh.
Basmah Al-Mayman, Regional Director for the Middle East at UNWTO, is representing the region on a global stage for the worldwide tourism agency. As the sector recovers from the worst global crisis it has faced in recent history, she’s spearheading change from its first-ever office in Riyadh.
On May 26, 2021, the Spain-headquartered United Nations World Travel Organization (UNWTO) opened its first regional office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Middle East’s first representative branch was established to serve as a hub for the global travel agency to coordinate policy and initiatives across its 13 member states in the region.
A series of international projects have since been introduced from the Middle East, including the Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO and the UNWTO International Tourism Academy, both of which were launched in December 2021. “Our region may not be the largest, but to be involved in launching such crucial global initiatives is a big achievement and sends a message to the world about the Middle East’s significance,” says Basmah Al-Mayman, Regional Director for the Middle East at UNWTO.
In Riyadh, UNWTO has also collaborated with the World Bank Group and the Saudi Ministry of Tourism to activate a Tourism Community Initiative and work towards establishing a global Multi-Donor Trust Fund exclusively devoted to tourism. Al-Mayman is also optimistic about the role of technology adding value and is now working to increase efficiency for travelers. “We’re working to implement a common digital health solution to facilitate travelers’ experiences through interoperability and blockchain as technologies to develop a standard framework,” she explains. “From our mountains to the seas, the Middle East presents a huge opportunity for tourism investments.”
For UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, the regional office for the
Middle East is also a step towards bringing the organization closer to its members. “From here, we will guide the growth of tourism for development across the whole region,” he reveals. “It will also deliver on two of my main priorities: innovation and youth empowerment.” Since 2018, UNWTO has collaborated with over 100 startups from the region, and in 2022 it created a startup competition with Saudi’s NEOM to foster solutions focused on deep technologies and sustainable growth.
The flow of investments into the sector is an encouraging sign. In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, capital investment into tourism represented $65.8 billion in the Middle East, according to data from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). The region saw a growth of 2.6% in capital investment in travel and tourism between 2010 and 2019, compared to a 1.5% increase in Europe.
In 2019, the Middle East was the secondfastest growing region, behind Asia-Pacific, with travel and tourism GDP growing by 3.2%. This growth was largely driven by Saudi Arabia, the region’s largest country in terms of travel and tourism GDP, with growth reaching 11.7% in 2019. In the same year, Saudi was the fastest growing country not only in the Middle East but amongst all G20 economies.
“The Middle East does a good job at creating the right environment for investment,” says Julia Simpson, WTTC President and CEO. “Governments who are successful consider overarching incentives including smart taxation, travel facilitation policies, diversification, innovation, and the use of digital technology, integration of health and hygiene protocols, effective communication, and skilled and trained workforce, among others.”
With almost all countries opening their borders for air travel in 2021, the industry’s losses around the world hit $51.8 billion in
“It was nice to be the first, but it was better to do the job right.”
2021, an improvement of 62.38% from the $137.7 billion in losses recorded in 2020, according to a statement by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) published in early October last year. As to the Middle East specifically, IATA expects carriers to see an improvement from a $6.8 billion loss in 2021 to a $4.6 billion loss in 2022. “We are well past the deepest point of the crisis. While serious issues remain, the path to recovery is coming into view. Aviation is demonstrating its resilience yet again,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director-General, in a statement. The 2022 losses are expected to reduce $11.6 billion further, pushing aviation a step closer towards recovery levels.
As a response to the pandemic, UNWTO established a Global Tourism Crisis Committee in March 2020 to guide the sector to address the crisis and build the foundations for future resilience and sustainable growth. “With each wave of the pandemic, the restrictions change, but in the region we still try to harmonize our procedures,” says Al-Mayman. “Tourists now are more demanding for better services, health protocols, and seamless travel planning, and that didn’t exist before.”
Al-Mayman would know—she began her career in tourism two decades ago, at a time when the sector had no formal regional governance nor global representation.
The daughter of a retired general and former diplomat, Al-Mayman was born and raised in the U.S. with her three brothers. As her father worked in the military, she briefly lived and studied in Jordan and Pakistan before moving to Saudi with her family and continuing her high school education in Riyadh. “Studying at international schools and being a participant at the Model United Nations spurred my interest to pursue a job in this field,” she says. “I always considered myself a citizen of the world.”
Al-Mayman joined the Saudi Supreme Commission for Tourism as a founding member. When Saudi joined UNWTO in 2002, she was the key liaison for the country. In 2018, Al-Mayman created history, becoming the first GCC national to hold a leadership role at UNWTO and the first woman to spearhead the region in the organization’s history. “Breaking the glass ceiling was not easy, but I learned from my father to never give the impression that I’m the only woman in the room,” she recalls. “It was nice to be the first, but it was better to do the job right.”
Now, she’s working to support others. Given the pandemic’s hard-hitting impact on the region’s tourism jobs, Al-Mayman spearheaded the launch of a “Regional Report on Women in Tourism in the Middle East” in 2020. Data indicates that women make up 8% of people employed in tourism in the region, compared to 16% in the region’s overall economy. At a global level, 54% of people employed in tourism are women compared to 39% in the broader global economy.
Still, the public sector is leading the way for women in leadership roles. According to 2019 UNWTO figures, 21% of regional tourism minister positions were filled by women, compared to 23% worldwide. “Tourism has historically provided abundant opportunities for women’s empowerment all over the world,” Secretary-General Pololikashvili said in a statement. “In the Middle East, while there is much progress to be made, our member states are leading the charge. As tourism restarts, we will work with them to ensure gender equality remains center stage in their recovery plans, empowering women to become financially independent, challenge stereotypes, and start their own businesses.”
A raft of newly-introduced policy level initiatives such as Saudi’s Vision 2030, Egypt’s Tourism Reform Programme, and the U.A.E.’s Gender Balance Council further highlight the priorities to push for equality in workplace opportunities, something UNWTO’s regional head believes will take law reforms, vocational training, and changing cultural and social perspectives. “I’m proud of what we have achieved, but I’m not proud of the numbers,” says Al-Mayman. “There is a lot of work that has to be done.”