Minister highlights need to encourage Kuwaiti youth into tourism

Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al- Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah

KUWAIT: Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) citizens spend nearly $100 billion annually on tourism abroad, including around $12 billion spent by Kuwaitis alone, a Kuwaiti minister said yesterday. This situation is draining regional resources, and also calls for changes to make the region more attractive for domestic tourism, said Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Acting Minister of Information.

Encouraging Kuwaiti youth to take part in developmental projects in tourism and various related sectors helps achieve that goal, the minister said. He made his statements in a press release made available to the press yesterday on the occasion of the first Youth and Tourism Forum. The event is due to be organized by the Information Ministry's tourism sector in collaboration with leaders Group Company for Consultancy and Development on the 27th and 28th of March 2017. "In view of many changes in regional and international tourism maps, this calls for a stand to prepare Kuwait to join the list of regional and international tourism destinations," he said.

Abdullah stressed that tourism would provide various job opportunities for Kuwaiti youth and help them start small and medium projects and initiatives in tourism and hospitality. "The forum also coincides with celebrating the Arab League's  declaration of Kuwait as The Capital of the Youth in 2017; an accolade earned due to the great care Kuwait shows to youth," he added, noting that this goes in line with the UN's new strategy to empower youth in sustainable development for 2030.