aTP- Arab tourism portal News- Deputy Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to the German Federal Republic, Adnan bin Bostaji, on Wednesday, 8 March 2017, kicked off the Saudi pavilion ITB Berlin 2017 for travel and tourism in the presence of Saudi Cultural Attaché in Berlin, Dr. Abdul Aziz bin Mohamed Al Saleh.
The ITB Berlin (Internationale Tourismus-Börse Berlin), is the world’s largest tourism and travel fair in terms of number of participating companies, the fair space and the number of visitors.
Following the opening ceremony, the Deputy of Ambassador of the Kingdom escorted by the Acting Vice-President of SCTH for Marketing and Programs, Mr. Abdullah bin Abdul Malik Al Morshid, toured the Saudi pavilion, acquainting with its exhibits that included photos and presentations on tourism and heritage in the Kingdom, besides visiting Saudi companies and organizations that are participating in the pavilion.
At the end of his tour, the Deputy Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to Germany made a press statement in which he expressed admiration of the pavilion on its design and the exhibits, which highlight Kingdom’s unique tourism and historical potentials.
He also stressed the importance of Kingdom’s participation in such an eminent international event and the largest gathering of tourism in the world.
He referred to the pavilion’s important role in highlighting the Kingdom’s deep rooted history as well as shed light on its cultural and environmental diversity, enhancing tourism investment in the Kingdom through tourism investment opportunities and cooperation with leading international companies in the field of hospitality and tourism, which is the focuses of this exhibition.
Deputy Ambassador of the Kingdom in his statement said that, the Saudi embassy in Berlin was keen to cooperate with SCTH in the arrangement of Kingdom’s participation and supporting and commending the efforts of SCTH in preparing for the pavilion and providing necessary support and facilities to the participants from the Kingdom.
Deputy Ambassador of the Kingdom on the other hand expressed his appreciation to His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz, President of SCTH for the participation of SCTH in ITB Berlin 2017, commending his efforts in promoting tourism and national heritage sectors in the Kingdom.
For his part, Acting Vice-President of SCTH for Marketing and Programs, Mr. Abdullah bin Abdul Malik Al Morshid, said, “Kingdom’s participation in ITB Berlin 2017 aims at providing a distinct image about the Kingdom and its tourism and heritage potentials through displaying a number of films, photos and print materials.
It is offering all the necessary information on huge investment opportunities available in the Kingdom in the tourism and heritage different areas, thus attracting large companies to engage in the Saudi market.
The participation aims to introduce INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT companies on Kingdom’s tourism destinations projects across different parts of the Kingdom and introduce them for investment opportunities in the hospitality market and infrastructure development mega projects.”
Al Morshid pointed out that this annual international Expo will be an important opportunity to acquaint the world with the historical legacy and the cultural dimension of the Kingdom, in addition to large development Renaissance occurring in the Kingdom, besides highlighting the features of unique ecological and cultural diversity of the Kingdom.
Kingdom participation in ITB Berlin 2017 is considered as good opportunity for the visitors from all over the world, especially Muslims and the Arabs resided in Germany and the other European countries who wish to identify the opportunities of tourism investment in the Kingdom and identify SCTH’s initiatives, especially the “After Umrah Trips” ambitious initiative, which it has been launched recently by SCTH and highlighted in the fair.
On the other hand, Saudi students who pursue scholarship program in Germany and other European countries will find in the Kingdom’s exhibition a good opportunity to access detailed information and print material on tourism and national heritage in the Kingdom, which will help them in highlighting the Saudi culture to the local communities where they study and reside.
More than 200 countries are taking part in ITB Berlin 2017, which is held over an area of 160,000 square meters with 10,000 pavilions from all over the world.
Exhibitors that are taking part in the fair include companies and specialized organizations engaged in tourism, travel, investment, aviation, cargo, travel technology and the like and it is covered by over 3000 media persons, besides featuring tens of workshops, training courses and lectures and some international conferences specialized in tourism and travel.
