The SCTA will soon submit to the governorate files for another 22 residential units that have violated the commission’s regulations, according to Abdul Latief Al-Bunyan, executive director of SCTA branch in the Eastern Province.

The punitive measures against these apartments, most of them in Dammam, include fines of up to SR10,000 and temporary closure. If they repeat the violation, they will be shut down forever, Al-Eqtisadiah business daily reported.

According to Al-Bunyan, the SCTA branch took 70 punitive measures against violators of its regulations during 2011. “The branch carried out as many as 626 raids on hotels and furnished apartments in the region last year,” he said.

Al-Bunyan said violations included operating without a license, charging exorbitant rent and employing workers illegally.

Meanwhile, several tour operators in Riyadh province have urged the SCTA to compel hotels in the region to reduce prices so domestic tourism packages can be developed to attract both domestic and foreign tourists.

The operators also underlined the need for closer interaction with the SCTA. Tour companies licensed by the commission made the demand during their recent meeting with officials of the SCTA branch in Riyadh.

Addressing the meeting, Abdul Rahman Al-Jassas, executive director of the SCTA in Riyadh, underscored the significance of tourist operations in the region. “Tourist operators are the key component of the industry,” he said, noting only a few tour operators have a license from the SCTA in the province.

He criticized the tendency of most tour operators to offer packages for only outside the Kingdom.

“They are not interested in conducting domestic trips to tap into the Kingdom’s richness in scenic beauty, heritage, archaeology and history,” he said, adding the SCTA would provide all available incentives to domestic tour operators.