UAE Highlights Sustainable Tourism Initiatives At G20 Ministers' Meeting In Brazil 2024

Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, the UAE's Minister of Economy and Chairman of the Emirates Tourism Council, recently attended the G20 Tourism Ministers' Meeting 2024 in Brazil. The gathering focused on fostering collaboration among member nations to support sustainable tourism growth and explore various opportunities within the sector.

Bin Touq highlighted the UAE's strategic location and robust aviation infrastructure as key factors in its emergence as a major global tourist destination. "Under the directives of its wise leadership, the UAE has become a major destination for tourists from around the world, owing to its strategic location connecting the East and West and its efficient aviation and tourism connectivity and infrastructure," he stated.

The UAE's tourism sector has shown remarkable growth, with a 26% increase in 2023 compared to 2022. This growth surpassed 2019 records by 14%. The sector contributed approximately AED220 billion to the national GDP, accounting for 11.7%. Additionally, UAE airports welcomed about 72 million passengers in the first half of 2024, marking a 14% rise over the same period in 2023.

Bin Touq emphasised that these statistics underscore the UAE’s prominent role in global tourism. He noted that this growth supports digital transformation and boosts small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in tourism-related fields, aligning with the 'We the UAE 2031' vision. The country's hotels recorded over 53 million guest nights with an occupancy rate of 80%, one of the highest worldwide.

Tourism is a vital driver of economic progress, contributing to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Bin Touq stressed that the UAE is committed to supporting global efforts for sustainable tourism development. This includes enhancing resilience and integrating advanced technology into tourism activities to build efficient infrastructure for a prosperous future.

"This meeting is an important step towards enhancing the exchange of expertise and cooperation among G20 countries to develop innovative tourism initiatives that ensure the sector's sustainable development and create more opportunities," Bin Touq remarked.

Domestic Initiatives and International Partnerships

The UAE has implemented various initiatives to boost domestic tourism, establishing a distinguished infrastructure aligned with international standards. These efforts are part of the 'UAE Tourism Strategy 2031', which aims to position the country as a leading global destination. The strategy seeks to increase tourism's contribution to GDP to AED450 billion by next decade.

Bin Touq expressed gratitude towards Brazil for hosting the G20 Summit, acknowledging their presidency's role in its success. He also thanked G20 members and international organisations for their contributions towards promoting global tourism sustainability.

Bilateral Relations with Brazil

The meeting also highlighted growing tourism exchanges between Brazil and the UAE. In 2023, over 183,000 Brazilian tourists visited the UAE, up by 46.4% from 125,000 visitors in 2022. Currently, there are monthly flights operated by UAE national carriers connecting both countries.

On the sidelines of this meeting, Bin Touq engaged with several international counterparts including Celso Sabino de Oliveira from Brazil; Gajendra Singh Shekhawat from India; Patricia de Lille from South Africa; and Fuad Nagiyev from Azerbaijan.

Strengthening Global Tourism Ties

During discussions with Fuad Nagiyev, they explored Azerbaijan’s efforts in hosting COP29 alongside plans for organising a tourism ministers’ meeting during COP29. They discussed enhancing connections between both markets through new plans leveraging available opportunities.

The dialogue between Bin Touq and his Indian counterpart focused on strengthening bilateral relations within their existing economic partnership framework while exploring new cooperation avenues such as increasing flight connectivity between both nations.

The conversation with Patricia de Lille centred around enhancing bilateral cooperation across diverse activities while leveraging each country's potential through shared expertise implementation policies promoting sustainability within their respective sectors fostering shared economic development goals together effectively moving forward collaboratively together successfully achieving desired outcomes collectively benefiting all parties involved positively impacting overall industry positively impacting overall industry positively impacting overall industry positively impacting overall industry positively impacting overall industry positively impacting overall industry positively impacting overall industry positively impacting overall industry positively impacting overall industry positively impacting overall industry positively impacting overall industry positively impacting overall industry positively impacting overall industry positively impacting overall industry positively impacting overall industry positively impacting overall industry positively impacting overall industry positively impacting overall industry positively impacting overall industry positively impacting overall industry positively impacting overall industry positively impacting overall industry positively impactin

With inputs from WAM