While the neighboring countries of Kuwait are witnessing successful and rapid daily booms in the field of tourism and entertainment, and their cities have turned into destinations that compete for the forefront of the global tourism scene, Kuwait is still completely absent from competition in the field of tourism.
Dubai’s recent announcement of its success in attracting 3 million tourists during the past January and February alone is an example of this success, especially if we know that Kuwait ranked tenth in the number of tourists visiting Dubai, with a share of 71,000 tourists, reports Al-Qabas daily.
At a time when the Kuwaiti citizen sees many international events hosted by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar every day, he is tormented by the question of what is required in order for Kuwait to see a destination for such events, which is one of the most important tourist attractions in the world.
Many specialists, writers, and those interested in the country’s tourism file agree on the need to move quickly to catch up, given that tourism has become an industry in itself and an important economic source of public income through which it can attract millions of foreign investments, and provide thousands of job opportunities for national cadres.
They told Al-Qabas that the promotion of tourism will save hundreds of millions of dinars that citizens spend annually on tourism outside Kuwait, escaping from a local reality that lacks the simplest means of entertainment that millions of families, citizens and residents, are looking for, who spend most of their time confined to the walls of their homes or inside malls at a time when recreational facilities continue to be rare.
And with the approaching Eid Al-Fitr holiday, and the multiplication of travel reservations to spend it outside Kuwait thousands of citizens and residents, according to specialists have booked tickets to fly out of the country because of limited entertainment places in the country.
They stated that the tourism file in the country needs a radical review, starting with the establishment of a body concerned with tourism, the development of the necessary legislation to revitalize the tourist field, as well as the development of basic services, service infrastructure, and the establishment of new and attractive tourist areas.
The advisor in entrepreneurship and government communication, Saad Al-Rubaian, believes that tourism in Kuwait needs serious work that begins with the legislative structure, as there is still no law regulating tourism work, just as there is no independent body authorized to order tourism, whose status is limited to the existence of a sector that was previously attached to the Ministry of Tourismand currently is affiliated with the Ministry of Information, and it includes a limited work team that makes great efforts, but lacks harnessing potentials and resources.
Al-Rubaian added tourism is a source of income that countries depend on, and it is a self-contained industry that has foundations and rules, while it is seen in Kuwait as a marginal view, and the advancement of this sector requires realizing the tourism identity of Kuwait at the beginning, as each country chooses its own tourism identity, and an example of that is Qatar, which realized its tourism identity is based on the sports industry as a means of attraction. So, years ago, Doha started planning by creating premium sports channels, hosting continental events, and even hosted the soccer World Cup.
The head of the Kuwaiti Federation for Tourism and Travel, Muhammad Lafi Al-Mutairi, believes that the direct reason for the decline in tourism in Kuwait is due to the state of political instability that the country has experienced in recent years, and the decline in the level of services and infrastructure, which made talking about promoting tourism a kind of luxury, contrary to what it should be. It’s on the ground.