The World Bank is helping out the National Urban Heritage Center (NUHC) to devise a comprehensive plan for the development of Saudi heritage villages by encouraging private investment.

"NUHC, in cooperation with the World Bank, is conducting a study on the scope of private investment in heritage villages in the Kingdom," an official of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) told Arab News on the sidelines of the ongoing Saudi Travel and Tourism Investment Market (STTIM 2015) on Thursday.

A number experts speaking on heritage projects at STTIM 2015 hoped that the Kingdom will witness a shift in architectural heritage soon and outlined the steps for stimulating tourism investment in heritage villages. According to the official, the joint project between the World Bank and the NUHC includes a survey through questionnaires and is being carried out by the World Bank experts at selected urban heritage sites.

"It also aims to ascertain the actual reasons why the local communities and the private sector are reluctant to invest in urban heritage sites," the official said.

He added that the SCTA will also offer incentives to the private sector to promote investment in heritage village sites.

The study covering heritage sites encompasses Dhi-Ain heritage village, one of the most fascinating tourist sites in the Kingdom lying on the King Fahd Highway, 20 km from Baha city, as well as Jeddah historical district, ancient tourist attractions in Ushaiger village, northwest of Riyadh, heritage village of Al-Ghat in the Riyadh Province and the heritage village in Hofuf. The study has been expanded to cover the old quarters in Riyadh city. Significantly, the study is expected to be wrapped up by June this year.

Besides the World Bank representatives, the meeting was attended by Badr Al-Hamdan, director general of NUHC.

The STTIM 2015 technical sessions in its last leg on Thursday discussed tourism in the Kingdom, strategy for organizing national events, summer festivals and various other forums, besides reviewing international reconnaissance experiments of the SCTA, the apex tourism body in the Kingdom and organizer of STTIM annually.

The STTIM is the mega tourism event that brings together investors, operators of various tourism facilities and services, developers and leaders of tourism destinations, the public sector departments, relevant companies and tourism experts all under one roof for the week-long forum.