Kuwait needs new laws to boost tourism

At a time when the Kuwaitis see many international events hosted by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar every day, the painful is question is: what is required of Kuwait make the country a destination for such events, which is one of the most important tourist attractions in the world.

Many specialists, writers, and those interested in the country’s tourism sector agree on the need to move quickly to catch up, given that tourism has become an industry in itself and an important economic source of income through which it can attract millions of foreign investments, and provide thousands of jobs for citizens.

The head of the Kuwaiti Federation for Tourism and Travel, Muhammad LafiAl-Mutairi, believes that the direct reason for the decline in tourism in Kuwait is due to the state of political instability that the country has experienced in recent years, and the decline in the level of services and infrastructure, which made talking about promoting tourism a kind of luxury, contrary to what it should be.

Promotion of tourism will save hundreds of millions of dinars that citizens spend annually on tourism outside Kuwait, escaping from a local reality that lacks the simplest means of entertainment that millions of families, citizens and residents, are looking for, who spend most of their time with the four walls of their apartments or inside malls at a time when open recreational facilities have become rare.

The advisor in entrepreneurship and government communication, Saad Al- Rubaian, believes that tourism in Kuwait needs serious work that begins with the legislative structure, as there is still no law regulating tourism work, just as there is no independent body authorized to order tourism, whose status is limited to the existence of a sector that was previously attached to the Ministry of Tourism and currently affiliated with the Ministry of Information, and it includes a limited work team that makes great efforts, but lacks harnessing potentials and resources.

With the approaching Eid Al-Fitr holiday, and the multiplication of travel reservations to spend the holidays outside Kuwait thousands of citizens and residents, are looking for destinations to get away from Kuwait. They stated that the tourism file in the country needs a radical review, starting with the establishment of a body concerned with tourism, the development of the necessary legislation to revitalize the tourist field, as well as the development of basic services, service infrastructure, and the establishment of new and attractive tourist areas.

Al-Rubaian pointed out that Kuwait has been known throughout its history for cultural tourism based on museums and artistic activities such as drama, theatrical works and cultural festivals, as well as food tourism through its restaurants of a heritage nature that attracted thousands of Gulf nationals.