JEDDAH, 9 June 2003 — Sharjah expects a significant increase in the number of Saudi families visiting the emirate this year. “We’re sure of a modest five percent increase during the year and a big increase this summer,” Hakam Al-Hashimi, events manager of the Sharjah government’s Commerce and Tourism Development Authority, said here yesterday.
“About 75,000 of the tens of thousands of people attending the upcoming Dubai Summer Festival are expected to visit Sharjah,” he told a press conference on the sidelines of the emirate’s regional tourism drive held at Radisson SAS.
In fact, due to the ever-increasing number of visitors from Europe and the GCC, the Sharjah government is designating 2003 the year of tourism growth. “The inbound numbers from Europe last year were almost 20 percent higher than those recorded in the whole of the UAE and the GCC,” he said.
“Sharjah’s museums and art galleries have been a big draw for visitors to the emirates with more than 400,000 people passing through their doors in 2002 alone.
“UNESCO awarded the emirate the status of cultural capital of the Arab world in 1998 “This was an official stamp of world recognition for what many people already knew as a center of art and heritage,” he said. “Sharjah’s old part has a history of culture and heritage spanning 6,000 years, and the new part reflects its architecture and technology as an oil-producing nation,” says Mohamed A. Al-Noman, director of Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority. “Sharjah is, to a certain degree, still untapped in terms of its tourism potential. So we believe the time is right for visitors to discover the emirate.”
“The traditional souks, selling everything from furniture to gold and spices, are as popular as ever. The Blue Souk, especially, has become a tourist attraction due to its distinctive architecture and traditional market feel inside. Beaches are clean and safe and the nightlife is also geared toward the family.”
Sharjah’s additional attractions have been staging of international cricket; the Sharjah Grand Prix, part of the Formula One Powerboat Championship being held for the last four years; water sports; and nature reserves.
Leisure sports lovers have been visiting Khor Fakkan on the east coast of the UAE, which is one of the world’s leading dive sites, and the Hajar Mountains.