The Programme - Global Travel & Tourism Summit

HE Khalid bin SulayemDIRECTOR GENERAL, DUBAI GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTOF TOURISM AND COMMERCE MARKETINGOn behalf of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President,Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, I join all my colleagues from thetravel and tourism community in Dubai to welcome all our visiting delegates to Dubai.In my professional capacity I spend a lot of time meeting leading figures from the traveland tourism sector.During those coming days of the Global Travel and Tourism Summit in Dubai, mypleasure is going to multiply, as so many participants have come here to take part in ourdiscussions and experience our warm Dubai Hospitality.I know I am going to meet many old friends, and I am confident I am going to makemany new ones too. This is the beauty of travel and tourism – the opportunity forpeople to explore the unknown, to come together and share experiences, and to gainwider and deeper understanding of one another and of the world around them.Here, of course, we have a very intense business agenda. And the central subject, of howeveryone in the travel and tourism sector can play their role fully as world citizens, isone that we in Dubai fully endorse. We have seen how great the benefits of travel andtourism can be. And in realising these benefits, we have also encountered many of thechallenges that will be discussed during this Summit.We are keen to make our contribution to this important debate, because we are veryconscious of the responsibilities that the leaders of the travel and tourism sector carry.It is they who have the duty of ensuring that this sector takes account of the needs ofthe world it operates in. It is more than a professional duty. It is an honour.At this Summit, I am sure much will be gained by everyone on the professional level.But I hope too that while you are here, all of you will also enjoy your stay in Dubaiand that you will remember it long after you have returned home.5