Museums reflect the memories of a nation, therefore it is needed to make good investment in order to house and preserve valuables of historic significance as it educates and inspires the generations.

This view was unanimously expressed by speakers on the second day of the 8th Saudi Travel and Tourism Investment Market (STTIM 2015) here on Tuesday, which was dedicated to investment in private museums, and museums and educational mission.

The panelists also highlighted their successful investment experiences in private museums as guide to the development of investment in the rest of the museums and also urged upon investors to join hand to share the experiences.

They apprised the participants in the technical session with the reality of investment in private museums, impacts and incentives to attract further investment, and future requirements to increase investment for improvisation.

Moreover, they highlighted its economic impact in the Kingdom and identified investment opportunities in private museums with tips to overcome obstacles.

The speakers on the topic included Muhammad bin Mitaq of Bin Mitaq Museum, Anas A. Sindi from Taif Museum, Saeed A. Al-Ghamdi of Diyar Al-Ez Museum and Abdul-Aziz As-Salim, supervisor of museums in the Eastern Region.

Ghassan S. Tanash, representing the Jordanian ministry of culture, and Arwa Khadhar, director general (private education), Ministry of Education, spoke on role of museums in educational mission useful educational messages that students gain from visiting museums whereas Ali A. Bakhsh, supervisor of museums administration at the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) deliberated on economic aspects of tourism which, he said, contributes handsomely toward sustainable economic development.

A number of investors and experts operating in architectural heritage expressed hope that the Kingdom will soon witness a shift in architectural heritage with the launch of a hospitality heritage company for which an establishment contract was signed recently.

They, however, emphasized the need for a detailed study of the factors that stimulate tourism investment in heritage sites and overcome the obstacles to tourism investment at these sites.