Posts Tagged :

visitsaudi

UNWTO Launch Women in Tech Startup Competition Middle East

 700 402 wttc2
By:

 

UNWTO Launch Women in Tech Startup Competition Middle East - TRAVELINDEX - WEBOFWOMEN.comRiyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 17, 2023 / TRAVELINDEX / UNWTO has launched a new Startup Competition to support women tourism tech entrepreneurs and innovators across the Middle East.

Announced at Biban 2023, Saudi Arabia’s largest SME conference, the Women in Tech Startup Competition: Middle East, will further advance UNWTO’s work to make tourism a pillar of women’s empowerment. The initiative gives innovators the chance to compete for enhanced capacity building and visibility. Finalists in each category will join the UNWTO Innovation Network, giving them access to the UNWTO Member States network, mentorship programs and to UNWTO scholarship opportunities.

Tourism startups are also leading the way in advancing women empowerment, in the Middle East and globally, and UNWTO is delighted to support the region’s best innovators and digital entrepreneurs

UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, says: “Tourism startups have the power and agility to transform the sector in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. Tourism startups are also leading the way in advancing women empowerment, in the Middle East and globally, and UNWTO is delighted to support the region’s best innovators and digital entrepreneurs.”

Who can apply?

  • Startups must be led, owned or managed by women residing in any of the following countries: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen.
  • Idea Stage, Early Stage or Series A startups with a minimum viable product or idea that is ready to be developed and funded.
  • Have a full-time team, a tested pilot and business plan.
  • Be scalable with potential for international growth.

Startups must also belong to at least one of the following categories:

  • Social Impact: For startups that focus on technology in wellness, health, urban development, rural development, sustainability, and education with cross-cutting benefits with tourism.
  •  Tourism and Travel Experience: Startups focusing on the food and beverage, transportation and accommodation, travel, and retail industries to participate. 
  • Future Tech: Startups that leverage fintech, AI, AR/VR, cryptocurrency, Internet of Things, blockchain technology, digital twinning and the Metaverse.
  • Events and Community: Startups focused on social and messaging platforms, e-sports and gaming platforms, community-based applications, events-related platforms, and education technology.

Applications close at the end of July 2023 and the winners will be announced at the Tourism Tech Adventure (TTA), to be held on World Tourism Day (27 September Riyadh, Saudi Arabia).

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Thailand to Normalise Relations

 500 312 wttc2
By:

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Thailand to Normalise Relations - TRAVELINDEXRiyadh, Saudi Arabia, January 27, 2022 / TRAVELINDEX / His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia received the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, and they held an official meeting, during which they reaffirmed their mutual determination to resolve all pending issues between Thailand and Saudi Arabia and normalise relations between the two Kingdoms. The two sides also stressed the importance of strengthening the two Kingdoms’ bond of friendship and the opening of a new chapter in the relations between Thailand and Saudi Arabia. The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand stressed that Thailand places utmost importance to the bond of friendship with Saudi Arabia, and expressed his sincere regrets for the tragic cases that took place in Thailand between 1989 – 1990. He reaffirmed that Thailand had exerted utmost efforts to resolve the cases and that it stands ready to bring the cases to the consideration of the competent Thai authorities if new well-founded evidence relating to the cases should emerge. He also reaffirmed Thailand’s commitment to providing appropriate security to members of the mission of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Bangkok in accordance with the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Both sides also reiterated their commitments to do their utmost to ensure the safety of each other’s nationals in their respective countries.

The two sides exchanged views on various regional and international issues, and discussed means and ways to strengthen their bilateral relations in all areas. They also agreed to increase interactions and coordination between their respective government agencies as well as private sectors in order to elevate their bilateral relations to new heights for the mutual benefit of the two Kingdoms.

In the spirit of cooperation and shared determination to revive the friendship and cordial relations between the two Kingdoms and their peoples, as guided by the bold leadership and vision of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, the two sides agreed to fully normalise their diplomatic relations. This historic breakthrough is a result of long-term efforts on many levels from both sides to restore mutual trust and friendly relations.

The two sides agreed on important steps to be taken to reinvigorate their bilateral relations, including the appointment of ambassadors to their respective capitals in the near future and the setting up of consultative mechanisms for consolidating their bilateral cooperation. Intensive coordination will commence in the coming months to discuss bilateral cooperation in key strategic areas.

The two sides discussed means and ways to strengthen and enhance economic and trade relations between the two Kingdoms by exploring investment and other opportunities in the context of Saudi Vision 2030 and Thailand’s national development agenda, namely the Bio – Circular – Green Economy policy. They also agreed to explore new areas of cooperation, such as renewable energy, environment, digital transformation, and cybersecurity. They further emphasised the importance of fostering people-to-people relations, which will be the cornerstone of the two Kingdoms’ growing relations, as well as the promotion of interfaith dialogue and multi-culturalism.

The two sides agreed to support each other in the international organisations and fora and stressed the importance of the commitment of all countries to the Charter of the United Nations, international norms, and principles of good neighbourliness, respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, non-inteference in internal affairs, and the peaceful settlement of dispute. They welcomed each other’s constructive roles in their respective regions, particularly Thailand’s vital role in ASEAN as well as Saudi Arabia’s leading role in the maintenance of peace, security and humanitarian and development assistance.

The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand congratulated Saudi Arabia on its success in hosting and organising the G20 Summit, which has yielded positive outcomes in many areas, such as economy, development, environment, health, energy, etc. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also expressed confidence that Thailand’s hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) in 2022 will be successful and greatly contribute to the sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth of the regional and global economy in the post-COVID-19 era.

The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand welcomed the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative, launched by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He also commended the leading role of Saudi Arabia in various common international issues, including combatting climate change, and its positive impacts for the region and its population. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also praised Thailand’s Bio – Circular – Green Economy policy, which aims to enhance resource efficiency, transform waste into wealth, regenerate biodiversity, and mitigate impacts on the environment.

At the conclusion of the visit, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand expressed his appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and expresssed his best wishes for their good health and for the prosperity and progress of the Saudi people. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also expressed his best wishes for the good health and well-being of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua and the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand and for the prosperity and progress of the Thai people.

First published at TravelCommunication.net

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Saudi Tourism Authority Expands Partnership with Aviareps

 500 301 wttc2
By:
Saudi Tourism Authority Expands Partnership with Aviareps - TOURISMSAUDIARABIA.com - TRAVELINDEXMunich, Germany, August 26, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / The Saudi Tourism Authority has opened a commercial office in Malaysia covering the Southeast Asia region as part of its strategy to engage the tourism trade in key source markets and raise awareness of Saudi, the authentic home of Arabia, as travelers around the world dream of exploring exotic destinations once more.

The destination reopened to vaccinated international visitors at the beginning of August.

STA now has representative offices in eleven markets serving 21 countries, with an eventual goal of having a 15 offices around the world to expand the reach of the Authority’s activities.

Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO of the Saudi Tourism Authority:

“STA is focused on enhancing its ability to deliver a truly global scale offering by investing resources today in the network that will drive our business for the future. We are building an integrated global team of professionals to showcase Saudi’s diverse offering of cultural adventures, world-class heritage sites, and authentic Arabian hospitality.”

The Malaysia office will be responsible for trade and consumer marketing activities, expanding the reach and relevance of Saudi’s tourism offer, and working with tour operators, travel agents, and other industry stakeholders to build awareness and drive conversion in line with STA’s strategy and mission. The Southeast Asia representative office is being set up with the support of the region’s leading aviation & destination marketing representative company, Aviareps Malaysia as its in-market representative covering the Southeast Asia region.

Kelvin Ong, Vice President, Southeast Asia for Aviareps Group:

“Southeast Asian nations have a strong affinity with Saudi as a destination and many of the region’s travelers have already experienced the country’s legendary hospitality while visiting the country on pilgrimage. We have already formed a dedicated STA team based in Malaysia to cover the region.”

Shazlin Ahmad, Country Manager for STA in Southeast Asia:

“Opening a dedicated office to serve this market creates an opportunity to expand the appeal of Saudi as a compelling leisure destination by sharing with travelers the diverse landscapes, bustling cities, abundant attractions, and storied historical sites that make Saudi unique. We are confident that Saudi’s diverse offering will be appealing to all demographics from the region. We have already begun outreach into the Southeast Asia’s tourism trade ecosystem and the response has been very positive. We are actively seeking opportunities to co-invest with partners who are keen to add Saudi as an exciting new destination in their portfolio.”

Since opening its borders to international tourism in September 2019, Saudi rapidly established itself as the fastest-growing tourism destination in the world, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. Despite the global shutdown of leisure tourism in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, STA continued to invest to prepare the destination for a return to normalcy.

In 2020 STA delivered a domestic tourism campaign that saw visitor spend across target destinations between July and September increase by more than 30% compared to the equivalent period the year before.

An international brand awareness campaign launched at the beginning of 2021 extends across 26 countries and 13 languages, with significant investment in outdoor, broadcast, and digital advertising.

Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO of the Saudi Tourism Authority:

“Saudi has a wealth of iconic sites for travelers to experience when borders reopen and we are ready to welcome visitors from around the world. By investing now in brand awareness and in our network of international offices, we are seeking to expand the global reach and relevance of these sites and integrating new ways of thinking and delivering on our mandate.”

To support the international and domestic tourism trade ecosystem, STA is introducing Saudi Expert, a comprehensive digital platform that provides partner companies with data, insights, destination information, and creative assets in real-time.

The new platform is intended to ensure that DMCs, tour operators, and other stakeholders have on-demand access to the information they need to build their business.

Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO of the Saudi Tourism Authority:

“Tourism businesses need to be more agile than ever to respond to sudden changes in the environment. Agility depends on a constant supply of up-to-date information, and our goal is to get that information to our partners almost as soon as we get it ourselves. We are working at pace to help our partners introduce the authentic home of Arabia to more people than ever before.”

About Aviareps
Aviareps is the world’s leading international representation, marketing and communications company for aviation, tourism, hospitality, and food and beverage brands. Founded in Germany in 1994 with the ambition to help clients to step into global markets, the company’s global network now expands around the world to six continents.

The Aviareps service portfolio includes extensive expertise in representation and sales, marketing and communications, business development, IT solutions and financial services. In addition to their well-established General Sales Agent (GSA) services and tourism marketing representation, Aviareps provides more than 250 clients with support in digital marketing, advertising, public relations, crisis communications, social media management, event coordination, sales, web design and more.

First published at TravelCommunication.net

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Saudi Arabia Tourism Opens South-East Asia Office in Malaysia

 500 289 wttc2
By:

Saudi Arabia Tourism Opens South-East Asia Office in Malaysia - TOURISMSAUDIARABIA.com - TRAVELINDEXKuala Lumpur, Malaysia, August 21, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / The Saudi Tourism Authority has opened a commercial office in Malaysia covering the South-East Asia region as part of its strategy to engage the travel trade to raise awareness of the destination in key source markets in the region.

The Malaysia office will be responsible for trade and consumer marketing activities, expanding the reach and relevance of Saudi’s tourism offer and working with tour operators, travel agents and other industry stakeholders to build awareness and drive conversion in line with Saudi Tourism Authority’s strategy and mission.

• For a comprehensive travel guide on Saudi Arabia, go to TourismSaudiArabia.com

Saudi Tourism Authority’s new office is being set up with the support of aviation and destination marketing representative company, Aviareps Malaysia, as its in-market representative covering the South-east Asia region.

“We are confident that Saudi’s diverse offering will be appealing to all demographics from the region,” said Shazlin Ahmad, country manager for STA in South East Asia. “We have already begun outreach into the South-east Asia’s tourism trade ecosystem and the response has been very positive. We are actively seeking opportunities to co-invest with partners who are keen to add Saudi as an exciting new destination in their portfolio.”

Since opening its borders to international tourism in September 2019, Saudi rapidly established itself as the fastest growing tourism destination in the world, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.

Despite the global shutdown of leisure tourism in the wake of the pandemic, STA continued to invest to prepare the destination for a return to normalcy. An international brand awareness campaign launched at the beginning of 2021 extends across 26 countries and 13 languages, with significant investment in outdoor, broadcast and digital advertising.

Saudi Arabia reopened to vaccinated international visitors at the beginning of August.

To support the tourism trade ecosystem, STA is introducing Saudi Expert, a comprehensive digital platform providing partner companies such as DMCs, tour operators and other stakeholders with data, insights, destination information and creative assets in real-time to help build their businesses.

Saudi Tourism Authority now has representative offices in eleven markets serving 21 countries, with an eventual goal of having 15 offices around the world.

First published at TravelCommunication.net

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News