00:00How are governments and businesses embracing tourism to boost economies, build resilience
00:06and underscore soft power?
00:08We talked to a panel of experts at the Euronews Hub at Davos.
00:11Here's what they had to say.
00:16It is my pleasure to address you today on diplomacy of tourism, a subject that sits
00:28at the crossroads of economic growth, international cooperation and long-term stability or sustainability.
00:37Our economy is very much dependent on mining, so that is why we are aiming to diversify our
00:42economy.
00:43That's why tourism is viewed as the second sector of Mongolia.
00:51It is the strategic pillar of our economic diplomacy and long-term drive to inclusive economic growth.
01:00Mongolia is a country of rare scales of authenticity, vast untouched land, rich history, legacy of
01:15Genghis Khan, Mongolia's rising star of tourism.
01:20The growth is a result of deliberate policy choices including visa facilitation, air transport
01:27liberalization, digital outreach and cross-border tourism cooperation.
01:33Come to Mongolia.
01:34This is an island of democracy in our region.
01:39Come to a land where tourism services diplomacy and investment builds lasting legacy.
01:47Thank you for your attention.
01:49Go Mongolia!
01:54One of the things that makes your industry different is that there's still a positive story to tell to the world.
02:01How do you see the perspectives in 2026?
02:04Because it is a positive story, it is a positive industry, but it does not live in a silo.
02:11Obviously the global context can have an impact.
02:13So how do you see the two coming together?
02:15So jumping directly to your question, I will speak on a perspective of an African country that of course feels the impact of all the situation going on in the world.
02:32And Africa has the most grown population in the world and the youngest one.
02:40So the main challenge that African countries face now is the challenge of the unemployment.
02:51So we are now focused on those kind of industries that are intensive in human resources that can fight the unemployment that we see in our societies.
03:07So we need stability. We need the industries of peace. Tourism is one of them.
03:14As African countries, we are strongly committed on taking advantage of this demographic advantage for shifting our economies,
03:25for being those that are dependent on the extractive sector, like oil, diamonds, to go to the services economy with the creative industries, cultural, tourism.
03:42And there we can compete with the other countries. That's what I think. Thank you.
03:47Minister, so just very briefly, what's your pitch to European companies who want to take that on their word?
03:53Who say, you know what? We want to bet on Africa. Our governments are telling us we need to work with them. What do you offer them?
04:00Yeah. And thank you for your question. I believe that foreign direct investments succeed not only when you have good business environment with good opportunities,
04:15but when the companies go there, starting a business with zero bureaucracy as well, as we have done in Angola, we have declared a word to bureaucracy in tourism.
04:28Yeah, it's a word declaration. So that's why we have received the word of best destination for investment tourism last year with the Global Tourism Forum.
04:42From one of the top tier destinations in the world, known by everyone across the world, how do you see this 2026 playing out?
04:49And there's a very difficult global context. So where do you see challenges that can be addressed through partnerships?
04:54I do feel that I'm a little bit the opposite of what Minister was just mentioning, you know, the youngest continent in the moment.
05:02I sort of represent a little bit the opposite. But, you know, with experience comes a legacy, comes a gravity that we need to bring forward.
05:12So in the setting the example, there's a lot of positivity as well. I am a firm believer that that not only, I mean, tourism is the most positive industry in the world,
05:21but is also the most human. And the minister mentioned it correctly. I mean, if we want to generate jobs for the younger generations, and we want to keep it human,
05:31definitely tourism is an absolute resource. There is nothing like it. Absolutely. There's no AI that's going to get in the middle, no chat bot that is going to substitute the human experience, you know, person to person exchange, building long lasting memories.
05:47But, you know, we have a lot of things to do as well. I mean, who knew that Rome or the suburbs of Rome could become a number one Congress destination in the world?
05:58Which is a perfect segue now to Dr. Gopinath. I wonder for 2026, what kind of horizon do you look at? What are you expecting?
06:06And again, this question that we mentioned before, you don't live in your own bubble, there's a broader context, which is challenging.
06:13So is that going to have any impact? And if so, how do you mitigate?
06:16I'm very optimistic. The meeting industry brings overall, the knowledge, thought provoking, the innovation, and also the future generation together. And we see that from 25 to 26, the growth is about 64%.
06:29There are 864 new meetings have been launched in the last 24 months, only on the topic of AI. Now, when you start a meeting of that nature, it brings over 1000 plus people.
06:40It brings economics together. It brings knowledge together. It brings academia together. It also brings innovation and creativity together.
06:47So there is huge opportunity across the world. I mean, we, as Ika, used to operate in about 70 plus countries five years ago.
06:55Now we are going to 108 countries. So you can see the potential. Everybody wants to invest. Why? Because the business, the investment, you talk about any topic, medical science, healthcare, you need an audience coming together.
07:08First of all, is it still possible to connect people, prevent perhaps conflict through the shared experience of tourism?
07:17Oh, I think it's entirely possible. We've experienced that in Sri Lanka for ourselves, that the people to people connections that tourism enables is one of the main factors that has enriched our relationships and strengthened diplomacy throughout.
07:35So we are a prime example of how that works.
07:40Well, thank you, Prime Minister. And now also joining us on the panel, we have Kuban Omid Aliyev. He is the Secretary General of the Organization of the Turkic States.
07:47Sir, how do you see this new scenario playing out? Because a lot of things are changing.
07:52Yes, thank you very much. Tourism is one part of the main part of the economy now, not only in our countries.
08:04As just before, Mongolian Prime Minister mentioned, Her Excellency now is mentioned, or in our African friends mentioned,
08:11everywhere is tourism becoming is important. It's not only bringing people together, as just you mentioned, it's changing political, not only daily, hourly changing now.
08:24But tourism will be to really soft power and really to people to people tie is also our main priority in our organization.
08:37And, you know, I want to ask you just to very quickly follow up to what you said.
08:41There are some countries, potential visitors, who are only now coming to know you. How do you pitch that?
08:48Our geography is stretching from Anatolia to Central Asia, from Caspian to Altai.
08:55It's really a big area, 4.5 million square kilometers in our territory. We are in the top five.
09:05So if you have someone, guests coming, they are providing them everything.
09:11We call it kosh geldings. We say only first, after say hello, we say welcome.
09:18So this is, you know, also in the part of tradition.
09:22Well, thank you for that. And also joining us is Mishhari Al Nahari. He is the CEO of the Asir Investment Company.
09:29And it seems there's been a big push from the kingdom, especially in the past five years, to really open up and tell a narrative
09:35to say there's many good destinations in the Gulf and Saudi is equally as competitive as other neighbors.
09:42So what's the outlook, would you say?
09:44The world is evolving. The Gulf is evolving. We're trying to build a story around tourism.
09:50So the birth of this company is called Asir Investment Company.
09:53Asir, by the way, is a region in Saudi Arabia. In the topography, it has four different topographies.
09:59It has the mountains, it has the wadis, it has the coast, and it has the plateau.
10:03So we're trying to build a year-round destination around this region.
10:08People no longer travel to try a specific asset or to taste a specific food.
10:17They travel for an experience. What can we provide to those people?
10:21How we can build those experiences? The experiences need to be built based on a partnership spirit
10:27with partners, with locals, with the community, from the people to the people.
10:32So people travel to see each other, to get to know each other, and to experience each other's culture.
10:37Just prime ministers, I know you have to go. Just a final question. Of course, it's Davos.
10:40So we have to talk about business too. For an investor, for foreign money, what can they expect?
10:46Well, we are looking to build that infrastructure, the infrastructure that is welcoming towards investors,
10:52one that's transparent, accountable. But I must say that we are looking for investors who are interested in long term
10:58and fits in with our overall economic and development vision for a more inclusive, climate-friendly country.
11:07And that's the kind of investment we look for even within the tourism sector.
11:13So the Vice President of the Republic of Suriname, of course, thank you very much for being with us.
11:19In this very competitive market that is tourism, in which everyone obviously tries to make the best case for your country,
11:25what is the case or the pitch that you make to anyone who wants to visit? What can they expect?
11:32I must say that Suriname is going through some exciting times. And the nice thing about Suriname is that we have been able,
11:38for example, over the last 100 years, that we are living very nicely together. Suriname, as far as the different populations is concerned,
11:49but also the religions, you know, live nicely together. And it's the only place, I think, on earth,
11:57where you will find a synagogue next to a mosque, sitting together, and the people looking after each other.
12:05We also have, I think, very interesting for, as far as tourism is concerned,
12:11people must recognize that Suriname is one of the three only countries in the world that are carbon negative.
12:18Well, thank you very much. And, of course, we continue in our panel.
12:21Please allow me to introduce Randy Durbin. He is the CEO of the Global Sustainable Tourism Alliance.
12:27Christopher Kiesling, he is the President of the Loro Parque Foundation.
12:30I've got to say, I've been to them many times in the past.
12:33And Nicole Mongeau, she is Senior Director at APCO.
12:37Of course, I'm sure it does not escape to you.
12:40However, the global conversation around sustainability has really changed.
12:44And some argue it's not really at the forefront anymore.
12:47So what is the impact in your different perspectives?
12:51And is that still the case? You know, is it still relevant?
12:53Or actually, it's hard to pitch it now as a premium element in a package.
12:58We can start with you, sir.
12:59Thank you. I believe it's our responsibility.
13:02We are an educational center, so we're inspiring loads of young children.
13:07So when they come to the park and when they meet the animals, live animals,
13:11in a controlled environment, not impacting, which is the natural habitats,
13:16then they get this inspiration which in the future will cause a more sustainable world,
13:22which we need nowadays.
13:24And on that note perhaps for you, Mr. Durbin,
13:27is the sustainable conversation still relevant when it comes to the specific sector of tourism
13:32and gathering convenient people?
13:35I think it's more relevant today than ever.
13:37And I would push back on whether it was ever niche or going away.
13:42All generations, young generations, are very angry at the world they're inheriting.
13:47And we're seeing now in satisfaction data on travel and tourism that the traveler wants it.
13:54So I push back on two levels.
13:56The capital markets want sustainability, and I would argue the travelers want it.
14:01I think there's so many misconceptions.
14:03Is it perhaps wrong the way that sustainability is measured?
14:07Is there perhaps an issue in the way that we use the metrics or the data that's used?
14:13Because some look at sustainability as something that's really a pain.
14:17It's you travel, oh, I'm such a horrible human being, I got on a plane.
14:20I think it's linking it to these other benefits.
14:25I truly do think linking it to the economic benefit is important.
14:29And I also think there's a piece of it around making people part of the solution as well,
14:35and not just creating a narrative where they're a problem.
14:38So it's also a way to sort of shift and change that narrative and how they talk about it.
14:44But that's just one way.
14:47That's all we have time for.
14:49You can watch the full conversation on Euronews.com.
14:52Thanks for watching.
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