“Arabian Travel Market 2023 Discusses Climate Change and Sustainable Tourism”

Dubai, May 1 / WAM / During the inaugural session of the Arabian Travel Market 2023, which kicked off today at the Dubai World Trade Center and will continue until May 4, a group of the most prominent tourism and economic leaders from across the Middle East region discussed the needs of the travel industry to adapt to addressing a crisis of change. climate and meet existing regulations by implementing new sustainable policies, funds and supports.

His Excellency Sujit Mohanty, Head of the United Nations Regional Office for Natural Disaster Reduction for Arab Countries, His Excellency Walid Nassar, Lebanese Minister of Tourism, and His Excellency Dr. Abdul Razzaq Arabiyat, Director General of the Jordan Tourism Promotion Authority, discussed the crucial role that the tourism industry plays in this process in conjunction with the country’s readiness The United Arab Emirates to host the Climate Conference of the Parties (COP 28) later this year.

His Excellency Mohanty explained that the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction works closely with governments, the private sector and stakeholders around the world, including 22 Arab countries, to reduce disaster risks, pointing to economic losses of $2.97 trillion due to disasters in the twenty years. past.

He noted that climate change leads to an increase in the severity of climate-related risks such as: floods, heat waves, hurricanes and torrential rains, and in return the tourism industry loses a huge amount of money because of these risks, so the return on investment is clear and it is the investment now to help protect the future.

His Excellency Walid Nassar, the Lebanese Minister of Tourism, stated that despite the political and economic challenges, Lebanon received two million tourists last summer, a quarter of whom were international tourists. the climate.

His Excellency added: The guesthouse sector has achieved remarkable growth in the past two or three years in Lebanon, as we have established a syndicate of more than 150 guesthouses with the aim of encouraging tourism in remote areas.

His Excellency Dr. Abdul Razzaq Arabiyat, Director General of the Jordan Tourism Board, said that his country is one of the highest ranked countries in the region on the Euromonitor Environmental Sustainability Index, and educating both companies and travelers about how they contribute to the carbon footprint is one of the main priorities in parallel with the education sector. Pointing out that the government provides incentives to hotels, companies and other stakeholders to encourage sustainable practices.

Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director, ATM Middle East, said: “The robust strategies discussed during the opening session are the perfect launching pad for ATM 2023 as we explore the future of sustainable travel in line with this year’s theme: ‘Working towards achieving net zero”.

The first day of the exhibition witnessed the organization of 20 sessions held on the Global Stage, the TravelTech Theater and the new Sustainability Center, including “Technology .. A tool to enable sustainable travel”, another session entitled “Sustainability in the Travel Industry” and a session “Enhancing Customer Experience through Artificial Intelligence”, in addition to The Sustainable Hospitality Alliance addressed the importance of protecting the sites, livelihoods and communities in which hotels are located as part of a session titled “Achieving Net Positive Hospitality”.

The 30th edition of the Arabian Travel Market is being held as part of the Arabian Travel Week, which takes place from 1-10 May 2023, and is a group of events dedicated to enabling specialists and professionals in this field from all over the world to collaborate and take advantage of market opportunities through exhibitions, conferences and breakfast sessions. Awards, product launches and networking events.