Bahrain hosts the UNWTO executive board meetings

Manama, Nov. 4 (BNA): Bahrain has hosted the 109th session of the UNWTO Executive Council and the UNWTO Tourism Tech Adventures Forum. Between October 30 and November 1, the Executive Council discussed several topics on the agenda including the Secretary- General’s report and general programme of work, the UNWTO’s financial report, the progress on the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other administrative matters. The associate members also elected the Executive Vice Presidents of the Executive Board for 2019. Members of the Executive Council also discussed the Organization’s focus and plans to drive innovation and transformation in the tourism industry by 2030, identifying key priorities for the development of the world tourism over the next two years. The Kingdom of Bahrain, represented by the BTEA, was selected as member of the UNWTO Executive Council for the period 2018-2021. This selection comes as a result of the BTEA’s efforts towards developing the tourism sector on a local level as a major source of income, which is part of Kingdom’s diversification plans and strategies to advance the tourism infrastructure in the Middle East. In addition, the ‘UNWTO Tourism Tech Adventures: Big Data Solutions in Tourism’ forum was also hosted and gathered representatives from the tourism sector including investors, decision-makers, entrepreneurs and investors with the ultimate goal of stimulating innovation, entrepreneurship and investments in the tourism sector. The forum also included seminars and competitions that witnessed global and regional participation with 3 teams selected as winners. The winner of the competition on an international level was ‘Unsettled’ and the winners of the competition on a global level were ‘Ship n’ Bag’ and ‘Jordan Trail Association’. "The tourism sector is a vital sector capable of creating more jobs and investment opportunities. We strive to host such international events that bring together businessmen and investors, encouraging them to further cooperate and coordinate in order to enhance relations between the various sectors and support the implementation of the 2030 Economic Vision," said the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, H.E. Mr. Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani. "We appreciate the confidence shown by the UNWTO in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the BTEA to further drive the development of the tourism sector. It gives us great pleasure to have hosted this international event which brought together various representatives from the tourism industry to discuss the main challenges and opportunities of the tourism sector with an aim to develop it," said the Chief Executive Officer of BTEA, Shaikh Khaled bin Humood Al Khalifa. "Hosting the forum comes in line with the BTEA’s strategy which aims to promote the Kingdom of Bahrain as an ideal destination for hosting meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE), further developing the national economy," he added. The UNWTO representatives expressed their thanks to the BTEA for the warm welcome and hospitality during their stay in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and affirmed their commitment to further enhance relations between both entities and further explore other bilateral initiatives that will contribute to the development of the tourism industry.