Djibouti’s Minister of Trade and Tourism Hassan Ibrahim

:: Djibouti is looking at the example set by Saudi Arabia as it looks to bolster its own tourism industry, a minister from the African republic said.

Djibouti’s Minister of Trade and Tourism Hassan Ibrahim praised the efforts of the Kingdom in travel and tourism, speaking during a meeting on Saturday with the President of the Arab Tourism Organization Bandar bin Fahad Al-Fehaid.

Ibrahim said the pioneering development of tourism at the local and regional levels in Saudi Arabia deserves to be emulated.

According to an Oxford Business Group report, Djibouti has an ambitious goal to attract 500,000 visitors a year by 2030. The industry is slated to play a key role in the government’s economic development strategy, Vision 2035, the report said.

Al-Fehaid received the minister and accompanying delegation at the headquarters of the Arab Tourism Organization in Jeddah. He pointed out that Djibouti has a strategic location at the entrance to the Red Sea.