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Saudi Arabia Hosts Official Celebration of World Tourism Day

The global impact of tourism is growing in bridging cultures and providing business and employment opportunities. (SPA)
The global impact of tourism is growing in bridging cultures and providing business and employment opportunities. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Hosts Official Celebration of World Tourism Day

The global impact of tourism is growing in bridging cultures and providing business and employment opportunities. (SPA)
The global impact of tourism is growing in bridging cultures and providing business and employment opportunities. (SPA)

Leaders from across the global tourism sector are set to unite in Riyadh for this year's UNWTO World Tourism Day (WTD), which will be celebrated on 27-28 September, under the theme of "Tourism and Green Investments".

Riyadh hosted the event for the first time in 2019.

Marking the most significant assembly of global tourism leaders in the 43-year history of World Tourism Day, gauged by global ministers, industry leaders, and experts in attendance, WTD 2023 will examine the role of investment in people and the planet to secure livelihoods and foster mutual understanding, while exploring opportunities to extend the reach of the industry's economic and social impact to more people around the world, safeguarding prosperity for all.

Hosting this gathering aims to boost Saudi Arabia's position on the map of international events in general, and tourism in particular, as one of the fastest-growing destinations among the G20 countries, and the second fastest-growing country worldwide. The Kingdom is also the chair of the World Tourism Organization for 2023, and the host of its headquarters in the Middle East.

Event participants will also attend a gala dinner in Riyadh's UNESCO Heritage site, Diriyah, to celebrate World Tourism Day.

Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb said hosting this significant global gathering reinforces the status of Saudi Arabia and its pioneering role in restructuring the future of global tourism.

He added that it also confirms the success of Riyadh in becoming a regional hub for the organization, as well as the Kingdom’s initiatives and achievements during the past four years.

“This World Tourism Day, we focus on the vital need to invest in building a more sustainable sector for people, planet, and prosperity,” said Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the UNWTO.

“The day also makes clear why UNWTO underscores the need for investment in education and for greater innovation as the foundations for long-term growth and transformation. This year's official celebration in Saudi Arabia reflects how tourism is being embraced to diversify economies and generate opportunities for all,” Pololikashvili added.

The global tourism sector is forecast to reach $9.5 trillion in GDP contribution in 2023, according to the WTTC. This is in line with UNWTO's forecast that tourism remains well on track to reach 80% to 90% of pre-pandemic levels this year and is widely expected to exceed 2019 levels in 2024.

The global impact of tourism is growing in bridging cultures and providing business and employment opportunities.

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Russia's Central Bank Holds Off on Interest Rate Hike

People skate at an ice rink installed at the Red Square decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities, with the St. Basil's Cathedral, left, and the Kremlin, right, in the background in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
People skate at an ice rink installed at the Red Square decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities, with the St. Basil's Cathedral, left, and the Kremlin, right, in the background in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
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Russia's Central Bank Holds Off on Interest Rate Hike

People skate at an ice rink installed at the Red Square decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities, with the St. Basil's Cathedral, left, and the Kremlin, right, in the background in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
People skate at an ice rink installed at the Red Square decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities, with the St. Basil's Cathedral, left, and the Kremlin, right, in the background in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russia's central bank has left its benchmark interest rate at 21%, holding off on further increases as it struggles to snuff out inflation fueled by the government's spending on the war against Ukraine.
The decision comes amid criticism from influential business figures, including tycoons close to the Kremlin, that high rates are putting the brakes on business activity and the economy.
According to The Associated Press, the central bank said in a statement that credit conditions had tightened “more than envisaged” by the October rate hike that brought the benchmark to its current record level.
The bank said it would assess the need for any future increases at its next meeting and that inflation was expected to fall to an annual 4% next year from its current 9.5%
Factories are running three shifts making everything from vehicles to clothing for the military, while a labor shortage is driving up wages and fat enlistment bonuses are putting more rubles in people's bank accounts to spend. All that is driving up prices.
On top of that, the weakening Russian ruble raises the prices of imported goods like cars and consumer electronics from China, which has become Russia's biggest trade partner since Western sanctions disrupted economic relations with Europe and the US.
High rates can dampen inflation but also make it more expensive for businesses to get the credit they need to operate and invest.
Critics of the central bank rates and its Governor Elvira Nabiullina have included Sergei Chemezov, the head of state-controlled defense and technology conglomerate Rostec, and steel magnate Alexei Mordashov.
Russian President Vladimir Putin opened his annual news conference on Thursday by saying the economy is on track to grow by nearly 4% this year and that while inflation is “an alarming sign," wages have risen at the same rate and that "on the whole, this situation is stable and secure.”
He acknowledged there had been criticism of the central bank, saying that “some experts believe that the Central Bank could have been more effective and could have started using certain instruments earlier.”
Nabiullina said in November that while the economy is growing, “the rise in prices for the vast majority of goods and services shows that demand is outrunning the expansion of economic capacity and the economy’s potential.”
Russia's military spending is enabled by oil exports, which have shifted from Europe to new customers in India and China who aren't observing sanctions such as a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian oil sales.