From left to right – Barbados’ Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Ian Gooding-Edghill; Vice Minister of Tourism, Saudi Arabia, Princess Haifa Al Saud; and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and International Transport, Francine Blackman, at the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit in Saudi Arabia. (BTMI)
A delegation led by Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Ian Gooding-Edghill, is currently participating in the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit in Saudi Arabia.
World’s Largest Travel and Tourism Forum
The global summit, which commenced today, Monday, November 28, in Riyadh, is the most influential Travel and Tourism event. It will continue until Thursday, December 1.
Minister Gooding-Edghill, stated: “The opportunity to not only attend but actively participate in an event of this calibre is important to Barbados. This positions us to further promote Barbados’ brand to key industry leaders in the untapped Middle Eastern market and foster partnerships to help build greater opportunities for investment and tourism development between us and Saudi Arabia.”
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport, Francine Blackman and Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc., Dr. Jens Thraenhart are also in attendance.
This year the WTTC’s annual Global Summit will bring together an estimated 3,000 people, including industry leaders and key government representatives, to continue aligning efforts to support the sector’s recovery and to build a more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable industry.
Tourism Investment in the Caribbean
One of the key items on the agenda is a special joint Caribbean event on Thursday, December 1, with sessions led by Barbados, The Bahamas and Jamaica.
The main purpose of the event is to introduce the Caribbean countries’ tourism product and identify investment opportunities with Saudi Arabia, the Arabian Gulf and the Middle East. The event is the first of its kind and will help to establish a multi-destination tourism strategy.
