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Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai

Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai
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Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai

Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai

Saudi Arabia, represented by the Tourism Authority, is participating in the 30th edition of the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, which will run until May 4, aiming to boost the Kingdom's position on the global tourism map and feature its destinations, experiences, products, and investment opportunities.

The Kingdom's pavilion hosts the largest Saudi delegation ever, with 67 partners of the Saudi tourism sector, in addition to more than 500 prime tourism packages and itineraries that are ready for immediate reservations, according to SPA.

The Kingdom's participation in the global tourism forum integrates with its efforts to become an easier and more entertaining travel destination, with increasing demand for bookings along the Red Sea coast and the southern highlands.

Saudi Arabia offers visitors various types of visas, such as the Umrah visa, transit visa, and family visit visa, in addition to making an electronic visa available to residents of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries without requiring specific professions. The on-arrival visa was also made available to citizens of the United States, the United Kingdom, and European Union countries, as well as holders of US, UK and Schengen visas.

Nusuk, the unified national platform for visitors to Makkah and Madinah destinations, is participating in the Saudi pavilion at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai with more than 20 partners representing the major Umrah companies, organizing trips, and providing services to the Umrah performers.

At the Arabian Travel Market, CEO and board member of the Saudi Tourism Authority Fahd Hamidaddin stated that Saudi Arabia today is the top investor globally in tourism and an ideal destination for major international tourism investors. He added that the number of visitors to the Kingdom who came for tourism, Umrah, and business purposes in the first quarter of this year exceeded what was achieved in the same period last year.

Saudi tourism has recorded an accelerated growth that reached 121% compared to the growth rates of international tourism in the pre-pandemic period, as the Kingdom achieved 93.5 million visits in 2022.

Today, the Kingdom is the largest investor in tourism in the world, by allocating more than $550 billion to major projects and new destinations to be inaugurated by 2030.

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Belgian Teens Arrested with 5,000 Smuggled Ants as Kenya Warns of Changing Trafficking Trends 

Belgian nationals Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx look on during the hearing of their case after they pleaded guilty to illegal possession and trafficking of garden ants, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Law Courts, in Nairobi, Kenya April 15, 2025. (Reuters)
Belgian nationals Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx look on during the hearing of their case after they pleaded guilty to illegal possession and trafficking of garden ants, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Law Courts, in Nairobi, Kenya April 15, 2025. (Reuters)
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Belgian Teens Arrested with 5,000 Smuggled Ants as Kenya Warns of Changing Trafficking Trends 

Belgian nationals Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx look on during the hearing of their case after they pleaded guilty to illegal possession and trafficking of garden ants, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Law Courts, in Nairobi, Kenya April 15, 2025. (Reuters)
Belgian nationals Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx look on during the hearing of their case after they pleaded guilty to illegal possession and trafficking of garden ants, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Law Courts, in Nairobi, Kenya April 15, 2025. (Reuters)

Two Belgian teenagers were charged Tuesday with wildlife piracy after they were found with thousands of ants packed in test tubes in what Kenyan authorities said was part of a trend in trafficking smaller and lesser known species.

Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, two 19-year-olds who were arrested on April 5 with 5,000 ants at a guest house, appeared distraught during their appearance before a magistrate in Nairobi and were comforted in the courtroom by relatives. They told the magistrate they were collecting the ants for fun and did not know that it was illegal.

In a separate criminal case, Kenyan Dennis Ng’ang’a and Vietnamese Duh Hung Nguyen also were charged with illegal trafficking in the same courtroom, following their arrest while in possession of 400 ants.

The Kenya Wildlife Service said the four men were involved in trafficking the ants to markets in Europe and Asia, and that the species included messor cephalotes, a distinctive, large and red-colored harvester ant native to East Africa.

The illegal export of the ants "not only undermines Kenya’s sovereign rights over its biodiversity but also deprives local communities and research institutions of potential ecological and economic benefits," KWS said in a statement.

Kenya has in the past fought against the trafficking of body parts of larger species of wild animals such as elephants, rhinos and pangolins among others. But the cases against the four men represent "a shift in trafficking trends — from iconic large mammals to lesser-known yet ecologically critical species," KWS said.

The two Belgians were arrested in Kenya’s Nakuru county, which is home to various national parks. The 5,000 ants were found in a guest house where they were staying, and were packed in 2,244 test tubes that had been filled with cotton wool to enable the ants to survive for months.

The other two men were arrested in Nairobi where they were found to have 400 ants in their apartments.

Kenyan authorities valued the ants at 1 million shillings ($7,700). The prices for ants can vary greatly according to the species and the market.

Philip Muruthi, a vice president for conservation at the Africa Wildlife Foundation in Nairobi, said ants play the role of enriching soils, enabling germination and providing food for species such as birds.

"The thing is, when you see a healthy forest, like Ngong forest, you don’t think about what is making it healthy. It is the relationships all the way from the bacteria to the ants to the bigger things," he said.

Muruthi warned of the risk of trafficking species and exporting diseases to the agricultural industry of the destination countries.

"Even if there is trade, it should be regulated and nobody should be taking our resources just like that," he said.