JEDDAH, 17 July — American and European concepts of comprehensive tourist services are slowly taking shape on Saudi soil, especially after Saudi tourists started deserting Western destinations in the wake of Sept. 11.
The Faqeeh Group, owned by Abdul Rahman Faqeeh, has started implementing a tourist village project in Taif, which is the first of its kind in the Kingdom and will have a variety of recreational facilities.
The project will be located in Hada covering an area of 177,000 square meters, 3,000 meters above sea level. The project will be carried out in two phases at a total cost of SR100 million, Al-Watan reported. The village will include a number of restaurants, chalets, villas with private gardens, recreational games and a market for handicrafts. The village will be surrounded by gardens, the paper said.
“The tourist village seeks to provide various services in line with Saudi customs and traditions,” the paper said. The Faqeeh Group also plans to implement a number of tourist projects in the Kingdom and other Arab countries. The group has been implementing tourist projects worth SR1 billion along the Corniche in Jeddah, the paper pointed out.
