JEDDAH: Saudi authorities have taken a series of measures to boost domestic tourism during the current summer season. These include plans to increase flights to major tourist resorts and destinations and organizing tourism festivals in major cities with a variety of cultural and recreational programs.
Abdullah Al-Johani, vice president for marketing and media at the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, said the SCTA was coordinating with government agencies and airline companies to increase the number of flights to the Kingdom’s major tourist spots, such as Abha, Taif and Jeddah.
“About 15 percent of people reach their tourist destinations by plane while the rest use land transport,” Al-Johani said. “We have contacted domestic airline companies to discuss prospects of operating more flights to solve transport problems of tourists,” he said.
He said this year’s summer tourist festivals would be organized with a variety of attractive events. A total of 21 tourist festivals have been planned in different parts of the country, including the shopping festival in Riyadh, Jeddah Ghair, Abha Yajmauna (Abha Brings Us Together) and the Taif festival.
Asked about measures to prevent the spread of swine flu among tourists, Al-Johani said, “The Ministry of Health has taken all precautionary measures to prevent an outbreak. Moreover, most people who tested positive for the H1N1 virus have recovered.”
He said the SCTA was mainly targeting local tourists and holidaymakers and wanted to make this year’s summer tourism festivals more attractive for them. “Regional governorates are the main organizers of these festivals and we’ll provide them with necessary support.”
The three-monthlong Jeddah tourism festival (Jeddah Ghair) begins on Saturday.
Badr Al-Hokair, chairman of the higher organizing committee, said the festivities would include a ceremony to honor outstanding students, a Ramadan heritage festival and an Eid Al-Fitr festival in addition to 500 cultural, recreational and sports programs such as competitions for children and the elderly, and dramas.
Al-Hokair described Jeddah as a major tourist destination in the Middle East as it receives millions of tourists and visitors during summer. He urged Saudis to support domestic tourism by spending their vacations inside the Kingdom.
Riyadh Mayor Prince Abdul Aziz bin Muhammad bin Ayyaf yesterday chaired a meeting of the Tourism Development Council to discuss steps to make the weeklong shopping festival that begins on July 29 a big success. He said more than 300 programs would be organized during the festival. “There are many historical places, museums and recreational centers in Riyadh that make the capital city a major tourist destination,” he said.
The Taif municipality has worked out a major plan to keep its more than 50 residential districts neat and tidy this summer when large numbers of tourists and holidaymakers visit the city, considered the Kingdom’s most sought-out destination. Okaz Souk in Taif is being developed as a major tourist attraction. The municipality has constructed a new road to the souk in order to facilitate tourist traffic.
