Saudi Arabia Launches Jeddah International Travel and Tourism Exhibition

Visitors at the Jeddah International Tourism and Travel Exhibition 2024. (Photo by: Adnan Mahdali)
Visitors at the Jeddah International Tourism and Travel Exhibition 2024. (Photo by: Adnan Mahdali)
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Saudi Arabia Launches Jeddah International Travel and Tourism Exhibition

Visitors at the Jeddah International Tourism and Travel Exhibition 2024. (Photo by: Adnan Mahdali)
Visitors at the Jeddah International Tourism and Travel Exhibition 2024. (Photo by: Adnan Mahdali)

The Jeddah International Travel and Tourism Exhibition (JTTX) 2024 kicked off at the Jeddah Superdome on Sunday.

The Jeddah Exhibition is hosting 250 local and international entities, including tourism bodies, the private sector, airlines, hotels, resorts, and specialized tourism companies, and seeking to attract more than 40,000 visitors, tourists, and specialists.

The Exhibition is hosting new companies from several countries, including Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chad, Mauritius, Cyprus, Hungary, Georgia, and other companies from AlUla.

The Jeddah Superdome is the largest geodesic dome in the world to ever stand without pillars and hosts multi-purpose exhibits, sports, shows, and international conferences.

President of the Exhibition’s organizing committee Maya Halfawi stated that the event will present a new vision for tourism.

She stressed that JTTX will be an ideal opportunity for companies and institutions to enhance their business and increase their presence in the growing Saudi market, in line with Vision 2030 goals.

Attracting visitors

The official pointed out that Saudi Arabia is a global tourist destination and a golden opportunity for exhibitors to meet new partners and attract potential customers through various professional marketing tools.

She added that the exhibition identifies the needs and goals of the Saudi market, establishes partnerships in the large travel market, and reaches senior executives and influential decision-makers.

The event is an ideal opportunity for companies and institutions in the travel and tourism industry to enhance their business and increase their presence in the growing Saudi market, she added.

JTTX hosts a wide range of products, making it an annual purchasing destination for travel enthusiasts and an opportunity for exhibitors to present their services and launch new products, attracting greater interest.

Egypt's Deputy Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ghada Shalaby revealed Cairo's plans to attract 30 million tourists in 2028, noting that about 15 million visitors arrived in the country last year.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the exhibition, Shalaby discussed the programs and facilities that Egypt provides to tourists and investors.

She touched on her country's launch of a five-year tourist visa worth $700 through embassies and consulates abroad, adding that Egypt grants electronic visas to 180 nationalities.

In its 12th edition, the Jeddah exhibition provides the opportunity to explore investment possibilities in tourism and provides advice on the latest offers, trends, and strategies to enjoy exceptional travel trips through workshops by specialized experts.

Encouraging domestic tourism

The exhibition is seeking to be a link between the participating parties and the travel market in Saudi Arabia to find new and unique ways of business cooperation by encouraging domestic and foreign tourism.

JTTX presents an opportunity for exhibitors to sustain existing partnerships, forge new collaborations, and attract potential customers by leveraging diverse professional marketing tools.

The current edition will focus on implementing partnerships and contracts between local and global parties participating in the exhibition.

The Kingdom has captured the world’s attention as a leading tourist destination. It is aspiring to attract 150 million visits and 70 million international tourists annually by 2030.

Saudi Arabia is one of the fastest-growing destinations in the world. In 2022, it ranked 13th among tourist destinations, and a year later, it landed the second position globally as the fastest-growing tourist destination.



Russia’s Pipeline Gas Exports to Europe up 13% in 2024, Calculations Show

Gazprom logo and stock graph are seen through a magnifier displayed in this illustration taken September 4, 2022. (Reuters)
Gazprom logo and stock graph are seen through a magnifier displayed in this illustration taken September 4, 2022. (Reuters)
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Russia’s Pipeline Gas Exports to Europe up 13% in 2024, Calculations Show

Gazprom logo and stock graph are seen through a magnifier displayed in this illustration taken September 4, 2022. (Reuters)
Gazprom logo and stock graph are seen through a magnifier displayed in this illustration taken September 4, 2022. (Reuters)

Pipeline gas exports by Russian energy giant Gazprom to Europe increased by 13% in 2024 to around 32 billion cubic meters (bcm), Reuters calculations showed on Saturday, slightly more than the 31 bcm supplied to China.

Gazprom's average daily pipeline exports have been stable this December, at 91.3 million cubic meters (mcm), in comparison with November, but rose by 7% from December 2023, calculations based on data from European gas transmission group Entsog and Gazprom's daily reports on gas transit via Ukraine showed.

Its total supply to the European Union stood at about 2.8 bcm in December, the preliminary data showed, including 1.5 bcm, or 49.2 mcm per day, sent via Turkey.

Gas transit via Ukraine has reached around 1.3 bcm this month, or 42.1 mcm per day, almost unchanged from November despite Russia halting gas exports to Austria's OMV in mid-November over a contractual dispute.

Gazprom's exports to Europe via Ukraine this year have reached about 15 bcm.

The transit agreement between Moscow and Kyiv expires in the end of the year and is unlikely to continue as Ukraine has repeatedly said it was unwilling to do so amid the military conflict.

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday there was no time left this year to sign a new Ukrainian gas transit deal, and laid the blame firmly on Ukraine for refusing to extend the agreement that brings gas to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria.

Gazprom, which has not published its own monthly statistics since the start of 2023, did not respond to a request for comment.

Russia supplied about 63.8 bcm of gas to Europe by various routes in 2022, Gazprom data and Reuters calculations show. That fell by 55.6% to 28.3 bcm last year.

At their peak in 2018-2019, annual flows to Europe reached between 175 bcm and 180 bcm.