San Marino and Saudi Arabia

Joint press release
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Tourism

A working group for tourism

San Marino and Saudi Arabia will work together on a development project for the hospitality industry. "San Marino - said the Saudi Minister - is a model to be imitated".
"Working together to foster the development of an important sector for the economy, not only in terms of tourist flows", this is the imperative on which the efforts of a special mixed working group, made up of experts from the Republic of San Marino and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, intend to concentrate.

The proposal was presented this morning, on the occasion of the visit of the Minister of Tourism of Saudi Arabia, Ahmed bin Aqeel al-Khateeb, who had a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luca Beccari and with the Minister of Tourism, Federico Pedini Amati. Meetings that allowed us to get to know the two realities better, their respective challenges on the horizon, to evaluate the opportunities for collaboration and exchange, to consider opportunities for mutual investments.

Saudi Arabia has recently launched its "Digital Tourism Strategy", an initiative designed to increase tourist flows to the Middle Eastern country, which since 2019 has opened to international tourism. A plan for which 13 billion dollars have already been allocated, with the aim of increasing from the current 42 million visitors to 100 million in the next few years, indicated by the "2039 Vision ", the national development project.

Riyadh, the Saudi capital, is a candidate to host the 2030 edition of the EXPO, together with Rome, Moscow, Odessa and Busan, in South Korea. The plenum of 170 states will have to decide by 2023 which country will host the important appointment.

Already in the context of the UNWTO, the World Tourism Organization, Saudi Arabia and the Republic of San Marino have begun to consider possible collaborations and common initiatives; they will do the same next June, when Minister Pedini Amati will make an Official visit to Riyadh, upon the invitation of his Saudi correspondent, and at the UNWTO meeting.

"Learning from San Marino will be an honor - said Minister Ahmed bin Aqeel al-Khateeb - we will work together to build better tourism".

San Marino, 30 March 2022/1721 d.F.R.