UNWTO General Assembly 2025 in Riyadh Makes a New Pivotal Moment for Global Tourism: From Uzbekistan to Saudi Arabia Showing Strategic Shift Now in the Tourism Industry Leadership

UNWTO General Assembly 2025 in Riyadh: A Pivotal Moment for Global Tourism

A global change in tourism direction and strategy, with the 26th Session of the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) bianually hosted in the city of Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, between the 7th and 11thof November 2025, aspired me to open new doors in international tourism by emphasizing its fsustainability, technological advancement and enhanced international cooperation. Building on what was established during the successful 25th session in October 2023 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, the Riyadh Assembly aspires to continue the momentum with existing objectives and at the same time introduce new methods in line with the country’s bold tourism ambitions.

Saudi Arabia: Leading Tourism Globally into the Future

The 26th UNWTO General Assembly in the kingdom represents a strategic landmark, shining a spotlight on the transformation of Saudi Arabia’s tourism industry. The Kingdom’s flagship tourism and culture developments – including NEOM, the Red Sea Project, and Qiddiya – will lead the way, offering incredible potential for the travel industry to drive economic, social and environmental benefits. Saudi Arabia’s high-level precision planning underscores its increasing sense of sway and desire to influence the global tourism narrative.

From Uzbekistan to Saudi Arabia: A Shift in Strategy

The movement of the 25th General Assembly held in Uzbekistan to the 26th in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also illustrates how world tourism agendas continue to evolve. The preceding session underscored setting UNWTO’s international presence, ethics and legality as well as strong public–private partnership as a priority. Of particular importance was its seven new supporters – Argentina, Brazil, Lebanon, Lithuania, Senegal, Thailand, and Venezuela – for the proposed International Code for the Protection of Tourists. It also prolonged the mandate of the Task Force on Redesigning Tourism for the Future, a demonstration of UNWTO’s forward-looking strategic perspective.

The Riyadh Assembly will continue to build on these early achievements and will shine a spotlight on the tremendous increase of tourism infrastructure and policy development in Saudi Arabia. By organizing World Tourism Day 2023 under the theme “Tourism and Green Investments,” Saudi Arabia has already shown they are dedicated to ensuring tourism growth is in line with world sustainability priorities. The 26th Assembly is anticipated to raise this discourse another level, enshrining stewardship of the environment and responsible tourism at its heart.

Exploiting Innovation: A New Dominant Logic for Digital Tourism and Travel Volume

Among the most promising of the expected dialogues at the Riyadh Assembly, is that on digital transformation and AI. Put forward as theme for World Tourism Day 2026, digital technologies and AI hold strong potential to transform experiences, efficiency, competitiveness and market access in global tourism. It will be a platform for the prioritization of these innovations and thus want to arm global tourism stakeholders with the best possible tools to navigate and profit from digitalization.

Attendees can anticipate discussions on the implementation of latest technologies to improve the customer journey, facilitate business operations and sustainable growth. AI-powered analytics, smart destination and experience management systems, and virtual tourism will almost certainly get a nod and a wink, showing what technology could mean to tourism going forward.

Human Capital Empowerment: Education and Skill Training

In line with UNWTO Ambitions for World Tourism Day 2027, education and skills development will also be central themes at the 26th General Assembly. Boosting of human capital through emphasize on skill-raising communication and learning opportunities is imperative to maintain growth in tourism and service-oriented excellence. Conversations will cover creative training initiatives and educational collaborations; projects aimed at upskilling the tourism workforce on a worldwide scale, ensuring the future workforce is ready to meet the needs of an industry in flux.

Promotion of World Cooperation and International Culture Exchange

The Riyadh Convention highlights how the role of tourism is a conduit for world peace and cultural interaction. As a platform for dialogue and exchange amongst VAMs from various member states, the meeting will promote international cooperation, exchanges and cooperation among the Nations. It is our aspiration that these exchanges will contribute to the tourism policy improvement, mutual understanding and collaborative action of the world tourism community.

A ‘Milestone Meeting’ for the Leaders of Tomorrow in Tourism

The next General Assembly of the UNWTO in Riyadh promises to be transformative, catalysing critical discussions of sustainability, technology, human capital and international cooperation. Set against a backdrop of Saudi’s hospitality sector gathering of industry professionals and leaders, the Assembly will rechart the course of the industry, paving the way for a sustainable, innovative and inclusive future.

The post UNWTO General Assembly 2025 in Riyadh Makes a New Pivotal Moment for Global Tourism: From Uzbekistan to Saudi Arabia Showing Strategic Shift Now in the Tourism Industry Leadership appeared first on Travel And Tour World.