Tourism, property ‘core chunk of holistic approach to lure tourists’ ---

‘One Hundred and One Nights’ aims to transform Kuwait KUWAIT: As preparations are in full swing for the Kuwait Festival for Tourism and Entertainment due in January as part of Kuwait’s vision to become a financial, economic, and cultural hub, several concepts come to the surface, aiming at boosting non-oil revenues, given the paramount significance of tourism. The festival to be held under the slogan “Kuwait: One Hundred and One Nights, is chiefly intended to transform Kuwait into a distinctive financial, economic, and cultural center. The country’s tourism sector should be developed and promoted with a view to raising its revenues, which could contribute to bolstering the national economy and boosting Kuwait’s non-oil resources. Comparatively, the real estate sector, with all its various domains and infrastructure as a whole, has an integrated connection with the tourism sector, thus serving an all-out vision meant to transfer Kuwait into a touristic destination by means of roping in Gulf tourists. The organizers rely on well-trained young Kuwaitis to organize such festivals and events by offering governmental services and cultural tours and holding sports activities and exhibitions in a way that would prop up tourism in the country. Kuwait abounds in fully equipped venues for hosting touristic activities, including parks, cultural and sports centers, museums, and utilities. In this regard, Chairman of the Union Real Estate Company Ibrahim Al-Awadhi, speaking to KUNA, said tourism is closely connected with the real estate market, and that’s why they absolutely affect each other. Tourism is also linked to services bearing on property activities that offer services pertinent to the tourism sector, such as hotels and hotel apartments, he said. Growing touristic activities and festivals would unquestionably lead to drawing tourists and visitors to Kuwait, given that tourism contributes to promoting the commercial sector, as Al-Awadhi pointed out. He underlined that any state approach to reactivating a specific sector would certainly lead to promoting the property, entertainment, and touristic sectors. But once the sectors of tourism and entertainment are developed, local companies will seek to create job opportunities, innovative visions, products, and projects, especially as the tourism sector has really become a very big source of revenues for neighboring countries, he opined. This approach, undoubtedly, would result in boosting the gross domestic product (GDP) and easing reliance upon oil earnings for these countries, Al-Awadhi added. For his part, Chairman of the Touristic Property Committee of the Kuwait Festival Association Hani Al-Seddi, speaking to KUNA, underscored the significance of spotlighting the role of touristic properties and the tourism industry in general, since this would help in diversifying the country’s income sources and raising non-oil revenues. He regarded this as one of the most important aspects of the first edition of the Kuwait Festival for Tourism and Entertainment, due in January 2024. He added that there is a close and positive relationship between investment in touristic real estate and the touristic environment as a whole, as touristic properties play a significant and crucial role in flourishing tourism in Kuwait, just like other world countries. Properties have clear-cut and tangible influence in the overall future dimensions on the way to making a local tourism industry and building a developed and prosperous economy, based on a distinctive vision of Kuwait’s touristic roadmap in line with the New Kuwait 2024 Vision, he noted. Furthermore, real estate contributes to boosting rental returns thanks to growing demand and landlords’ ability to capitalize on relevant opportunities to rent their facilities at higher prices during the tourist season, he said. However, Al-Seddi emphasized that environmental suitability would lead to sustainable real estate and that traditional properties could face challenges in answering mounting environmental needs. Investment in touristic real estate is deemed to be a common option for investors to notch up great profits, with the availability of a variety of investment opportunities, he pointed out. — KUNA