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Key Speakers to take Part in Saudi Arabia's First World Tourism Day

An event at Boulevard Riyadh City in the Saudi capital (Asharq Al-Awsat)
An event at Boulevard Riyadh City in the Saudi capital (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Key Speakers to take Part in Saudi Arabia's First World Tourism Day

An event at Boulevard Riyadh City in the Saudi capital (Asharq Al-Awsat)
An event at Boulevard Riyadh City in the Saudi capital (Asharq Al-Awsat)

More than 500 government officials, industry leaders, and experts from 120 countries are set to attend the World Tourism Day (WTD), which will be held in Riyadh for the first time.

According to the recent UNWTO Barometer Report, the Middle East reported the best results in January 2023, with arrivals 20 percent above pre-pandemic levels.

The region continues to be the only one to exceed 2019 levels, with Saudi witnessing extraordinary growth exceeding 58 percent.

The organizing committee for the WTD announced on Sunday that the exceptional participation reflects the significance of this occasion.

- Green investment

WTD 2023, on September 27 and 28, will be held under the theme "Tourism and Green Investments."

The event aims to foster global collaboration to examine investment opportunities and strengthen the resilience of the tourism industry, steering the sector towards an investment-led and sustainably focused future.

On the evening of the first day, a gala dinner will be hosted in Saudi Arabia's UNESCO heritage site, Diriyah, to celebrate WTD 2023.

A WTD 2024 handover session will be conducted between Saudi Arabia and Georgia ahead of Tbilisi's hosting of the event next year.

Hosting this significant event in the heart of Riyadh bolsters the city's global standing and leadership across various sectors, including the international tourism industry.

The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, stated on World Tourism Day: "We recognize the vital need for green investments to build a tourism sector that delivers for people and planet. Governments and businesses must invest in sustainable and resilient tourism practices."

- Participating officials

The Kingdom was elected Chair of the Executive Council of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for 2023 and hosted the World Travel and Tourism Council's Global Summit in Riyadh last year.

Riyadh also houses the regional office of the World Tourism Organization in the Middle East.

WTD2023 will have a high-level speaker line-up, showcasing the collective movement across the industry to celebrate the sector's successes while exploring solutions to its most pressing challenges.

Key speakers include, among others, Saudi Tourism Minister Ahmed al-Khateeb, Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih, WTO Sec-Gen Zurab Pololikashvili, and South Africa's Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille.

Notably, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz recently discussed developments in the Saudi tourism sector during a TV interview with Fox News, revealing that the sector's contribution to the GDP has increased from three to seven percent.

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Euro Rises after France's First-round Vote; Yen Fragile

The euro rose after the first round of France's snap election put the far-right in pole position. Reuters
The euro rose after the first round of France's snap election put the far-right in pole position. Reuters
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Euro Rises after France's First-round Vote; Yen Fragile

The euro rose after the first round of France's snap election put the far-right in pole position. Reuters
The euro rose after the first round of France's snap election put the far-right in pole position. Reuters

The euro rose on Monday after the first round of France's snap election put the far-right in pole position, though by a smaller margin than projected, while the yen struggled to break away from a near 38-year low.
Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) party won the first round of France's parliamentary elections on Sunday, exit polls showed, although analysts noted the party won a smaller share of the vote than some polls had initially projected.
The euro, which has fallen some 0.8% since President Emmanuel Macron called the election on June 9, was last 0.4% higher at $1.0756, after having touched two-week top earlier in the session.
"They (RN) have actually performed a little bit worse than what was expected," said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
"As a result of that, we saw the euro rise modestly in early Asian trade just because we might actually get less fears of more expansionary and unsustainable fiscal policy if the far-right party did a little bit worse."
The rise in the euro sent the dollar a touch lower against a basket of currencies, though the greenback was also reeling from data on Friday that showed US inflation cooled in May, cementing expectations the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates later this year.
Market pricing now points to about a 63% chance of a Fed cut in September, as compared to a 55% chance a month ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Against the dollar, sterling rose 0.11% to $1.2659, while the Aussie dipped 0.07% to $0.66655.
The New Zealand dollar edged 0.12% higher to $0.6098. The dollar index was last 0.11% lower at 105.61, having earlier hit a one-week trough.
"Should inflation continue to behave itself, and incoming data fall in line with the FOMC's forecasts, through the summer, the first 25bp cut remains on the cards as soon as September," said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone.

The yen struggled to gain ground against a broadly weaker dollar and was last 0.1% lower at 161.03 per dollar, standing just a whisker away from a 37-1/2-year low of 161.27 hit on Friday.
The Japanese currency had reversed early gains in the session following revised data that showed its economy shrank more than initially reported in the first quarter.
Separate data on Monday also showed the business mood in Japan's service-sector soured in June as the lower yen pushed costs higher, offsetting a big lift in factory confidence and pointing to consumption weakness.
The yen has already fallen more than 12% this year as it continues to be weighed down by stark interest rate differentials between the US and Japan, with its latest decline to the weaker side of 160 per dollar keeping investors on heightened alert for any intervention from Japanese authorities to prop up the currency.
Elsewhere in Asia, the Chinese yuan - also a victim of stark interest rate differentials with the US - fell a marginal 0.04% to 7.3204 per dollar in the offshore market.
The onshore yuan last stood at 7.2679 per dollar.
The Chinese currency drew some support from a private sector survey which showed factory activity among smaller Chinese manufacturers
grew at the fastest pace since 2021 thanks to overseas orders.
That came after official data over the weekend revealed China's manufacturing activity fell for a second month in June while services activity slipped to a five-month low.
"The PMIs for June were mixed but on balance suggest that the recovery lost some momentum last month," said economists at Capital Economics.
"We think economic activity will continue to hold up relatively well in the coming months. While the latest property stimulus has done little to boost new home sales, fiscal stimulus and strong exports should continue to support growth, at least in the near term."