Riyadh Hosts 26th UN Tourism General Assembly as Body Marks 50 Years with AI-Focused Agenda

The 26th session of the UN Tourism General Assembly opened in Riyadh on Friday, and the numbers attached to it are the first thing worth noting. It is the largest Assembly since the organization was founded 50 years ago, and the first to be held in the Gulf Cooperation Council region. Around 160 delegations from member states have arrived, among them ministers, senior officials, and representatives of industry and civil society.

The theme is "AI-Powered Tourism: Redefining the Future." The organizers frame it against a sector whose digital transformation is changing how people find destinations, book trips and experience them. The stated aim is to make sure artificial intelligence serves people and places, with attention to jobs, small businesses, destination stewardship and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Tourism is hosting, with planning carried out alongside UN Tourism and a range of partners. The Kingdom's relationship with the agency is long-standing. Riyadh houses UN Tourism's first regional office in the Middle East, and Saudi Arabia chaired the Executive Council for two terms, in 2023 and 2024.

The working schedule is dense. Over the coming days delegates will sit through four plenary sessions and meetings of seven specialized committees. They will also attend the 124th and 125th sessions of the Executive Council, the organization's highest executive body. The agenda is built around how AI and digital transformation might accelerate growth that is sustainable and inclusive, and deepen cooperation between countries. Before the General Assembly sessions proper, the organization's Affiliate Members are holding their own meeting.

Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb described the week as a defining moment for the industry, a chance to shape how tourism grows through stronger connectivity, greater sustainability, deeper investment in human capital and AI-driven innovation. He said the Kingdom, guided by Vision 2030, wants that growth to keep producing opportunity and inclusion. On the Kingdom's role, he said it would help ensure one of the world's most powerful generators of jobs and GDP grows in harmony with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said the Assembly exists to bring tourism leaders together to set the agenda for a more innovative and inclusive sector, and that from Riyadh the agenda for the years ahead would be set. He said the city would showcase tourism as a driver of transformation, modernisation and opportunity, and called for technology to be used to diversify economies and create jobs for many millions of people.

Some background on the body itself: the General Assembly is the principal gathering of the World Tourism Organization. It meets every two years to approve the budget and program of work and to debate major issues, and every four years it elects a Secretary-General. Full and Associate Members make up its composition, while Affiliate Members and other international organizations take part as observers. UN Tourism counts 160 Member States, 6 Associate Members and more than 500 Affiliate Members.

Much of what has been made public so far comes from the host ministry and the organization's own announcements, and consists of aims and ambitions. The outcomes to watch are what the plenaries and committees actually decide on AI and digital transformation in tourism before the session ends.