JEDDAH, 2 August — Al-Nakheel Tourism Village, which is managed by the Tourism Resorts and Real Estate Company, has won the first Environment Prize instituted for tourist villages as part of the Jeddah summer festival.
More than 30 tourist villages and resorts mostly based in Abhur contested for the prize.
Officials supervising the contest, the first of its kind to be held in the Kingdom, said it was aimed at boosting environmental awareness among owners and employees of resorts, hotels and tourism ventures situated by the seaside. The organizers hoped that these ventures would take care of conservation aspects while implementing future projects.
The contest saw stiff competition among the participants for the annual prize, sources said.
Hassan Sagher, director of the Tourism Resorts and Real Estate Company which manages more than 35 tourist villages and resorts in the Kingdom, said the prize would invite attention of these facilities to environmental concerns.
Officials in the Tourism Department said the prize was initially conceived for Jeddah 22. Its regulations and standards were laid out by a number of specialists connected to government departments and universities, including King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, the Meteorology and Environment Authority, the Ministry of Health, the Jeddah Municipality and the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Sources at JCCI confirmed that a ceremony will be held for the prize. The chamber intends to include this prize among other annual awards for environmental conservation in the Kingdom.
