JEDDAH, 28 May 2003 — The first National Tourism Forum opened at the Jeddah Hilton yesterday with a clear message to investors to explore the prospects of boosting domestic tourism.
The forum, inaugurated by Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed, outlined the scope of domestic tourism and discussed how it could be expanded through innovative plans.
It was held under the auspices of Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation and chairman of the board of directors of the Supreme Commission for Tourism (SCT).
Prince Sultan ibn Salman, secretary-general of the SCT, said in his address that the commission expected the Kingdom’s tourist spending to reach SR80 billion by 2020 as against SR35 billion in 2000.
He urged travel agencies and tour operators to come up with innovative ideas and market high-quality tourism products among local tourists.
“Investments in the tourism sector cover only 30 percent of potential tourist areas. Investments must increase,” he said, indicating plans to organize a Saudi tourism mart next year with the cooperation of industry experts. “We’re also planning to introduce a prize scheme for those who contribute to the development of tourism in the Kingdom,” he said.
The opening session emphasized the role of manpower and support services in promoting and boosting domestic tourism.
Abdul Rahman Al-Jeraisy, chairman of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, a co-organizer, said the event was taking place at a time when domestic tourism faced many challenges. “The council hopes to forge an active partnership between the public and private sectors to promote tourism,” he said.
Businessman Dr. Abdullah Dhahlan said the domestic tourism had to be made competitive for the encouragement and benefit of local tourists. “Competition has to come through support services. Official reports indicate that tourist resorts all over the world attract more tourists due to excellence in support services. There are no special fares to promote domestic tourism. In fact, at the moment there is nothing to encourage travel within the Kingdom,” he pointed out.
Ismail Sajeeni, the chairman of Sajeeni Consultant Agency, referred to a survey which said that only 62 percent of those working in the tourism sector possessed intermediate certificates. “Some 68 percent of those interviewed in the survey said the Kingdom lacked a true concept of tourism,” he said.
