JEDDAH, 20 June — Saudi Arabia would welcome foreign tourists under a national tourist plan currently being worked out but foreign visitors must respect the Kingdom’s religious and cultural sensibilities, Prince Naif, minister of interior and member of the Supreme Commission for Tourism, said yesterday.
Speaking to members of the council’s newly formed advisory board, Prince Naif said tourism is vital for realizing the country’s national objectives, boosting the economy and cementing ties among members of the community. This, he stressed, should not clash with the religious and cultural values of the nation.
“We hope to see in our county a highly developed tourism industry that upholds the country’s religion, its morals and traditions. If any person wishes to come as a tourist, he will be welcome but this must be within the country’s recognized customs and morals.”
Prince Naif specifically stressed two points, which he said were of personal interest to him given his cabinet responsibilities: First, the tourist sector must employ the largest number of Saudis in various areas of the business. Second, there has to be a special and independent security body attached to the supreme commission to handle safety matters. Qualified and well-trained Saudi youths should undertake this responsibility, he said.
“We do not want tourism to become a burden on the security agencies (of the ministry). I can assure you that all the security organs will cooperate fully with the new tourism security apparatus and provide all possible assistance in training and other forms of support.”
Earlier Prince Sultan ibn Salman, secretary-general of the commission, chaired the constituent meeting of the commission’s advisory board which discussed the outline for the national tourism plan. The plan will be implemented over three stages extending for a period of 20 years. An international consultancy in planning and studies has been assigned the task of laying down a comprehensive framework for the plan.
Prince Sultan said the commission would seek to implement the tourism plan by developing a strong hospitality sector through a partnership involving all sectors.
Subcommittees made up of 77 members — 12 of them women — held separate meetings to discuss matters relating to environmental and urban development, culture and heritage, tourism and social projects, economic programs, human resources, systems and regulations and tourist information and development.
Prince Naif called for collective efforts involving both the public and private sectors, regional administrative councils, higher education institutions and other bodies and stressed the importance of carefully studied plans to ensure a strong base for the sector. He said he wants to see SR25 billion spent annually by Saudis for traveling abroad to be spent domestically.
“People will feel more secure while in their own country. I think they will be willing to spend those amounts here by spending the long summer holidays in the country. This is definitely better but the tourist sector should strive to provide the infrastructure and facilities that attract vacationers.”
