CNN
Julia Simpson, President of the World Travel and Tourism Council, at Arabian Travel Market, May 2024.
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CNN
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Last week, representatives from the travel and tourism industry from more than 150 countries gathered for the annual Arabian Travel Market trade show, which will once again be held in Dubai.
There, CNN's Eleni Giokos spoke with Julia Simpson, president of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), about tourism trends in the Middle East and the challenges of making travel more sustainable.
The interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
CNN: Although the tourism sector is thriving in many parts of the region, it is also under pressure due to: others. Please tell us about the macro trends you are currently seeing.
Julia Simpson: It's really interesting because travel isn't just coming back, it's completely booming. We're here in the Middle East – this is our first time going to the Arabian Travel Market – but what's interesting is that everyone says they've never seen it so crowded. I think this is actually very representative of what we're seeing globally, which is that there's a very strong market for travel and tourism everywhere.
CNN: But in terms of interest and demand for the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council countries) and the Middle East as a whole, have we seen this kind of demand before?
Simpson: The GCC and Middle East are growing faster than any other region. Saudi Arabia has just celebrated their 100 millionth visitor, Dubai has just announced a new airport, which is great, and here (in the United Arab Emirates) Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah is flooded with tourists. The amount of revenue has increased by 50% and the contribution to GDP based on the amount of money travel and tourism generates and contributes to the economy has increased by 25%. It's very, very strong. So the whole region is doing very well.
CNN: Why do you think that is? Is it a product offering? Is it because in many places it is still essentially a fringe market, while other destinations have been so popular for so long?
Simpson: I think there are two elements here. First of all, Dubai is now very established globally. People know they're safe here and they know they'll have a great time with very high quality, delicious food, great art, and interesting culture. And the rest of the GCC is actually developing. In Saudi Arabia, Diriyah's project is a great one. They took the old castle of the House of Saud and rebuilt it, and it now attracts literally hundreds of thousands of visitors. So it's happening everywhere.
I think another trend is that people are looking for authenticity. People are very interested in visiting the area and wanting to know what's going on. Saudi Arabia has a million rewilded trees and green mountains, and I think one of my favorites is Oman. To tell. Oman is a very nice country and Oman is quite far south, so when the Middle East gets very hot, people go to the south of Oman for the green hills. It's a wonderful, very rich area.
CNN
Visitors and representatives of the Arabian Travel Market.
CNN: We have seen unprecedented flooding in the region and the UAE, particularly Dubai, has been hit hard and sustainability is now paramount. Will this be the case now more than ever in this region?
Simpson: Indeed, even greater climate change is occurring around the world, everywhere. So when we look at travel and tourism, I think it's really important to understand how we're impacting the climate. Previously no one knew what the impact was (on the travel sector), but we (World Travel and Tourism Council) have been working with Saudi Arabia and Oxford Economics. And now we know exactly that our sector contributes 8% to the global greenhouse effect. Gas emissions. But what's interesting is that now that we have the data, we know where it's coming from.
For example, most of our impact actually comes from ground vehicles. This means all ground vehicles, including the small van delivering the raspberries to the hotel and the bus from the airport. Therefore, it is very important to achieve electrification globally.
Then, of course, there's air travel. And air travel will have the next generation of planes with more efficient engines and sustainable aviation fuel production. Currently, not enough is produced worldwide, but there are goals to be achieved. The problem is that airlines have no control over the fuel they use. They have to buy fuel. Therefore, it is very important to talk to countries to encourage investment in sustainable aviation fuels.
CNN: I would like to talk about the impact Conflicts in the region and war in Gaza. Please tell us about your awareness of risks.
Simpson: First and foremost, when we talk about things like this, we must remember that this is a true human tragedy. Our hearts go out to all those caught up in this terrible conflict. In terms of the impact on travel and tourism, those in the middle are obviously suffering in terms of tourists not wanting to go there. But there are areas a little outside the area that are doing very well.
Egypt is a large country, so travel and tourism numbers are very strong. It depends on where you are geographically. As you can see in the numbers, the Gulf Coast is not affected, but as you said, there is a general feeling and that may be reflected in visitor numbers. However, at this time, we do not see any major impact on travel and tourism outside of the directly affected areas.
