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Saudi Arabia to Establish Global Tourism Academy

Visitors walk outside the tombs at the Madain Saleh antiquities site, AlUla, Saudi Arabia. Reuters file photo
Visitors walk outside the tombs at the Madain Saleh antiquities site, AlUla, Saudi Arabia. Reuters file photo
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Saudi Arabia to Establish Global Tourism Academy

Visitors walk outside the tombs at the Madain Saleh antiquities site, AlUla, Saudi Arabia. Reuters file photo
Visitors walk outside the tombs at the Madain Saleh antiquities site, AlUla, Saudi Arabia. Reuters file photo

Saudi Arabia will open a regional office for the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in Riyadh as well as a global academy for tourism training, Minister of Tourism Ahmed al-Khateeb has announced.

Khateeb indicated Wednesday that this move would improve the quality of services provided to tourists.

According to the minister, the academy will have standards that enable it to be among the best in the world.

The Minister said the Kingdom, during its presidency of the G20, sought to address the concerns of all stakeholders in the region with regard to the future of tourism.

The Kingdom has put in place initiatives for the recovery of the global tourism sector, which was the worst hit from the coronavirus pandemic, according to Khateeb.

Saudi Arabia has launched a local initiative to revive the domestic tourism sector covering eight destinations within the Kingdom.

This has been welcomed by citizens and expatriates, Khatib noted, including the UNWTO secretary general who praised the initiative during his visit to the Kingdom last week when he toured a number of Saudi summer destinations.

Khateeb hoped that the Kingdom, together with UNWTO, would launch a set of initiatives to develop the tourism sector in the region.

The Minister also pointed out that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and the government approved the Ministry’s move to open the regional office and the academy.

Majid al-Hokair, head of the Tourism Committee at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Kingdom is making great progress in tourism as a source of major revenue.

Hokair said it is imperative to train professionals in hospitality, which creates great employment opportunities for both men and women.

He estimated the size of the tourism sector in the Kingdom at $40 billion, expecting larger numbers of tourists seeking to discover different destinations in the Kingdom next year.

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Japan's Core Inflation Rate Slows in September

FILE PHOTO: Media members observe the stock quotation board at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo, Japan, August 6, 2024. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Media members observe the stock quotation board at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo, Japan, August 6, 2024. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File Photo
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Japan's Core Inflation Rate Slows in September

FILE PHOTO: Media members observe the stock quotation board at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo, Japan, August 6, 2024. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Media members observe the stock quotation board at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo, Japan, August 6, 2024. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File Photo

Japanese inflation slowed in September with prices up 2.4 percent on-year, not including volatile fresh food, official data showed Friday.
The core Consumer Price Index eased from 2.8 percent in August as the pace of increase in electricity and gas prices relented, the internal affairs ministry said.
Despite the slowdown, the rate remained above the Bank of Japan's two percent target, set over a decade ago as part of efforts to boost the stagnant economy, reported AFP.
The target has been surpassed every month since April 2022, although the bank has questioned to what extent that is down to temporary factors such as the Ukraine war.
"The resumption of electricity subsidies resulted in a plunge in headline inflation in September," said Marcel Thieliant, head of Asia-Pacific at Capital Economics.
Thieliant predicted a further deceleration of core inflation in October, but noted that the subsidies "should be phased out completely by December, which should lift inflation".
The Bank of Japan raised interest rates in March for the first time since 2007 and again in July, in initial steps towards normalizing its ultra-loose monetary policies.
New Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said this month that the environment was not right for another interest rate increase.
After Ishiba took office in early October, perceptions that he favored hiking borrowing costs and the possibility that he could raise taxes triggered a surge in the yen and stock market volatility.
One dollar bought 150 yen on Friday morning after the Japanese currency weakened from levels around 149.35 the day before.
Excluding both fresh food and energy, Japanese prices rose 2.1 percent in September.
"We expect inflation excluding fresh food and energy to remain around two percent until early next year, when it should gradually fall below two percent," Thieliant said.
"Accordingly, we still expect the Bank of Japan to press ahead with another interest rate hike before year-end."