DUBAI, 6 May 2008 — The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) has plans to turn historic palaces into tourist accommodation, said Prince Sultan ibn Salman, secretary-general of the SCTA and chairman of its board.

Prince Sultan was speaking yesterday at the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference at Dubai’s Madinat Jumeira, where he was special guest speaker.

In a stage interview with CNN’s John Defterios, Prince Sultan said his department has outlined strategic plans for tourism development in the Kingdom, and that a recent statute has enabled the commission to restructure the industry.

He added that, as chairman and president, he now reports directly to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and that this move highlights the importance that is now given to the tourism sector.

“With responsibility for three new sectors as well as development of three more, we will be dealing with antiquities and museums, including exploration, accommodation, travel agents, tour operators and tourism master plans,” explained Prince Sultan.

He added that among current developments was the beginning of a process of classifying hotels, starting in Makkah and Madinah, and a major study to research the possible expansion of a heritage inn chain.

“We are looking at historic palaces to turn these into accommodation or build rooms around them, plus historic villages — we have five planned,” he said, adding that a Red Sea Tourism master plan was also in place and that measures were being implemented to meet the challenge of Saudization in the travel and tourism sector.

“We have three colleges planned and three or four more to come, partnering with major operators such as Accor,” he said.

“Another development is the licensing of timeshare, which has encouraged around 15 companies to already set up in this sector. We are also licensing tour operators, which did not exist previously,” he said, adding that he too had passed his tour operator exam and held a license.

On visas, he said, an e-system was being put in place and that those who come to Saudi Arabia on an Umrah visa could convert this into a tourism visa electronically within 12 hours.

Other initiatives include the addition of four more airports, bringing the total to 30, plus the construction of gateway airport cities, starting with Jeddah, which would include accommodation, exhibition and conference facilities to target the meetings sector.