The Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) and Alibaba Cloud have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to boost the kingdom’s tourism sector. Latest news about Saudi Arabia tourism find out below.

Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing company which is the digital technology subsidiary of the popular Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group, is set to provide technical support to the STA in order to promote Saudi Arabia as a new and viable travel destination for Chinese tourists.

In a statement by the STA’s CEO Fahd Hamidaddin, he hailed the MoU as a way of “building a digital infrastructure which can provide the destination with a competitive edge and visitors with the best possible experience.”

Hamidaddin added: “By collaborating with Alibaba Cloud, we will break new ground in the regional tourism sector and position Saudi at the forefront of efforts to modernize the wider global tourism eco-system.”

He also cited the need to overcome the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on international tourism, which greatly obstructed Riyadh’s drive to increase tourism over the past few years to achieve the goals of its Vision 2030 programme.

Alibaba Cloud will also provide technical support to STA and help STA promote Saudi as a tourist destination to travelers in the Chinese market.

“As Saudi Arabia continues to develop its leisure tourism offering for local, regional and international audiences, STA is building a digital infrastructure which can provide the destination with a competitive edge and visitors with the best possible experience,” said Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO of STA.

“The recovery of the global tourism sector demands fresh thinking to overcome challenges exacerbated by the pandemic. By collaborating with Alibaba Cloud, we will break new ground in the regional tourism sector and position Saudi at the forefront of efforts to modernize the wider global tourism eco-system,” he added.

Through the collaboration, Alibaba Cloud will deploy advanced, secure and reliable cloud services and technologies to create an improved digital experience for Chinese tourists traveling to Saudi and allow for the automation of services in content delivery, digital storage, and digital processing.

Selina Yuan, general manager of International Business, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence and vice president of Alibaba Group, said “This collaboration brings together two key actors in the tourism sector who can set a new standard for providing a travel experience like no other.

“With Alibaba Cloud leading the digital transformation of tourism, and Saudi’s unique destinations, this is a combination which will help to re-invigorate the tourism sector.”

This agreement between the Saudi and Chinese companies is the latest effort towards cooperation between the two countries, and comes after Beijing helped Saudi Arabia increase its nuclear capabilities by assisting the kingdom in the construction of a uranium ore facility last year.

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