Kuwait takes key steps to boost tourism, says top WTO official

• Basmah Al-Mayman, Director of the Middle East Regional Department at the WTO, stated that the State of Kuwait, a founding member of the organization, now enjoys the unanimous trust of the Middle East region’s countries and chairs its regional committee, making it one of the decision-makers on the world tourism map.

Basmah Al-Mayman, Director of the Middle East Regional Department at the World Tourism Organization (WTO), stated that Kuwait’s election as president of the organization’s Regional Committee for the Middle East positions it as a key player in global tourism, Al Rai newspaper reported.

In a statement to the Kuwait News Agency after Kuwait unanimously won the presidency of the Regional Committee for the Middle East for a renewable two-year term at the 51st meeting of the Regional Committee held in the Qatari capital last week, Al-Mayman noted that this is the first time in the organization’s history that Kuwait has held the committee’s presidency. She added that in the coming period, Kuwait will set tourism policies for the region, which will later lead to international recommendations presented to other regions (there are five in addition to the Middle East) within the Executive Council and the General Assembly.

She stated that the State of Kuwait, a founding member of the organization, now enjoys the unanimous trust of the Middle East region’s countries and chairs its regional committee, making it one of the decision-makers on the world tourism map.

Al-Mayman also highlighted the important and significant steps Kuwait has taken to develop and enhance its tourism sector, emphasizing that this reflects the country’s focus on the promising industry, which could serve as a complementary sector to oil in oil-producing nations.

She said she had the privilege of visiting Kuwait twice, during which she learned about its promising tourism development plans. She highlighted the exceptional organization of the recent Gulf Cup Football Championship (Gulf 26), which helped raise the standard for hosting major events and benefited all tourism facilities and entities in the sector. During this time, hotel occupancy rates exceeded 99 percent.