RIYADH, 14 July 2004 — A former American expatriate in Saudi Arabia has set up a virtual tour for people thinking of visiting the Kingdom.
According to Jane L. Smith, www.toursaudiarabia.com could encourage tourists from abroad. “When people discover I lived in Saudi Arabia they usually have many questions to ask me. This site was created to answer some of those questions. I have filled these pages with information, pictures and experiences I found interesting.”
Welcoming the launch of the website, Dr. Muhammad Al-Heezan, director of communications at the Supreme Commission for Tourism, told Arab News the commission was considering launching its own virtual tour. “The idea of a website was mooted by Prince Sultan ibn Salman, secretary-general of SCT, during a recent symposium held in Abha,” Dr. Al-Heezan said.
How did Jane Smith come up with the idea of her virtual tour? “I was living in Riyadh where my husband was working. When he retired we remained in Saudi Arabia. It is a country that must be lived in to appreciate what it has to offer. Perhaps what I enjoyed most is the ability to walk the streets of my compound at any time and feel safe. I miss the call to prayer heard five times a day in Riyadh. It was a reminder to me that all is well in the world.”
The website contains some information and pictures about camels and life in the desert. As Smith points out, “my husband would organize trips to the desert and everyone interested would meet at our house on Thursday morning.
“We always had our four-wheeler and other SUVs with us. It was just a great time to be with friends and enjoy what Saudi Arabia has to offer.”
Smith said that she received a number of positive reactions from visitors to her site. “Everyone tells me how interesting the site was. One of the purposes of the site was to inform Americans about little known facts of Saudi Arabia.”
She believes that a large percentage of Americans need to be spoon-fed knowledge in an interesting and entertaining way. “Once you get them interested in a subject then you can hope they find other, more time-consuming articles to investigate.
“There are very large sites filled with great information but not presented in a visitor-friendly way. I have photos on the site that surprise the visitor since they cannot even imagine such a place exists in Saudi Arabia,” she added.
