JEDDAH, 11 April 2008 — Hail will organize next year an international festival to exchange experiences in desert life around the world, the region’s Governor Prince Saud ibn Abdul Mohsen announced late Wednesday.
Opening the first festival for desert heritage in Hail, Prince Saud emphasized the growing global interest in desert tourism.
“The world is now looking at desert as an important venue for tourism,” he pointed out.
The governor said Hail, which is known for its rich desert environment, is capable of holding such festivals successfully. “We hope this festival will help us build a strong basis for Hail to become a meeting point for all desert civilizations.”
Mubarak Al-Salamah, chairman of the festival’s organizing committee, said his organization has lined up a variety of interesting programs to make the event a big success. “We hope that this festival will highlight Hail desert heritage. Hence, Saudis and foreign visitors will be able to spend their vacation in Hail.”
He thanked Rakizah Holding Co., the main developer of Prince Abdul Aziz bin Musaed Economic City, for its participation in the festival. “We intend to include GCC and Arab countries’ experiments in desert life and heritage in future festivals.”
The newly established Hail University is one of the festival’s main organizers. It will hold a workshop on prospects of desert tourism as part of the festival. It will focus on three topics: desert and tourism, desert resources and desert dangers.
Abdul Hadi Al-Aufi of Tabuk University will present a paper on Bedouin life while Dr. Muhammad Al-Eissa and Muhammad Al-Motairy of the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWCD) will speak on natural wildlife reserves and NCWCD’s efforts to protect wildlife in the country.
Dr. Ibrahim Al-Toum of Hail University will make a presentation on “Management of Desert Tourism: Concept and Application.” Dr. Sharief Al-Shaarawi will speak about medical plants.
Dr. Ahmed Mahjae of Hail University will present a paper on desert snakes while Dr. Mahmoud Al-Dasouki, also from Hail University, will speak about desert scorpions and spiders. Al-Shaarawi will present another paper on poisonous plants.
Two exhibitions will be held on the sidelines of the workshop at Prince Sultan Cultural Center. In the first show, samples from desert environment will be displayed while in the second a presentation will be made on removing venom from snakes.
“The workshop and exhibitions are aimed at enlightening the public on desert life, possible dangers lurking in deserts and how to protect against them,” said Dr. Ahmad Al-Saif, president of Hail University.
He said the university will soon open a department for tourism and heritage to meet growing requirements for specialized manpower in the travel and tourism sector. Al-Saif recently signed an agreement with Sorbonne University in France to provide technical and academic support to establish the department.
Under the agreement, the French university will design the department’s curriculum and academic structure, Al-Saif said. The department will focus on heritage science and economics of tourism and provide courses to train tour guides.
“The new department will provide bachelor degree and diploma courses in tourism and heritage,” the president said.
Al-Saif spoke about Hail’s tourism prospects and added that the private sector has made a lot of investments to promote tourism. “We have decided to open the new department in order to meet the needs of the local labor market and the country’s development requirements.”
Speaking about the agreement with Sorbonne, Al-Saif said it will help Hail University make use of the French institution’s faculty and expertise in research.
