Addressing a panel discussion on the first day of Future Investment Initiative (FII) with Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Simpson said, “I really applaud the work of minister Al-Khateeb because I never saw an ambition for tourism like I’m seeing here in the Kingdom. The investment, the commitment, the energy and the drive.”

She added “We're holding a summit here [Riyadh] on November. We are going to bring all the big players in the travel and tourism together to look at the way forward for the Kingdom and for the industry globally.”

“[Saudis] are very warm people. They have big hearts. The first time I came to Saudi Arabia I had certain ideas in my head they all disappeared. I’ve never been so warmly welcomed anywhere.”

Al-Khateeb said that Saudi Arabia wants Riyadh to be the capital of global travel and tourism industry.

Answering a question on why Saudi Arabia is focusing on tourism while it has a lot of other industries to build on, Al-Khateeb said “We have everything to offer for tourists. The sun and sea, the mountains, the Red Sea, the culture and we have the great warmly people.”

Al-Khateeb renewed the Kingdom’s commitment to protect the environment.

“We want to create the maximum value and the best experience for people who will visiting Saudi Arabia and we promise to do that. We’re investing in our manpower and we’re building the best-ever-built destinations.”

Al-Khateeb said, “The Crown Prince clearly told me we want to achieve 10% GDP contribution from tourism and create jobs and to be among the top destinations globally.”

He added, “We have this clear vision and plan with all the resources on place. We will see more destinations in the near future that will put Saudi Arabia at the top.”

“Saudi Arabia achieved historical number of visits this year,” he said.