Inland tourism to get fillip during summer break

Local tourists are expected to spend more than SR 10.5 billion this summer. This makes for an increase of 18 percent compared to spending last year, which stood at SR 8.9 billion, according to data from the Tourism Information and Research Center (MAS), an affiliate of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA).
Local tourist excursions are predicted to jump to 5.3 million during the months of July and August compared to five million trips in the same period last year, an increase of 5 percent, according to the report.
Local tourists will spend 25.9 million nights during the summer break compared to 24 million nights in 2012. Similarly, spending rates per tourist per night will reach SR 406, the report said.
According to the report, Riyadh province is expected to capture 30.9 percent of the total number of tourist excursions, followed by the Eastern Province at 27 percent, Makkah Province at 25.3 percent, Madinah Province at 11.8 percent and Jazan Province at 1.6 percent.
About 36.7 percent of local tourists are expected to make trips to visit their relatives and friends, 25.4 percent for religious purposes, 20.2 percent for holiday-making and shopping and 3.3 percent for business and conferences, the report said.
The report cited a number of reasons for the expected raise in the rate of local tourism during this summer break. These include the SCTA’s promotional campaigns on domestic tourism through the implementation of more than 40 summer festivals, unrest in neighboring Arab countries and the approach of the holy month of Ramadan followed by the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays.