RIYADH, 2 June 2008 — The Kingdom has been awarded the UNWTO (Ulysses Special Jury Prize) by the World Trade Organization (WTO) for its innovation in Tourism Governance .
“This is a prestigious award we have received for the Education Scholastic Tourism Program (Smile) which we launched in 2005 in cooperation with the Ministry of Education,” Prince Sultan ibn Salman, secretary general of the Supreme Commission For Tourism (SCT), told newsmen at a packed press conference at the SCT headquarters held here yesterday to celebrate the award which was given in in Madrid on Wednesday.
The prince formally presented the award to Education Minister Dr. Abdullah Saleh Al-Obeid, whose ministry was instrumental in implementing the program for 150,000 students during the past three years.
Thanking the ministry of education for its unstinted cooperation, the prince recalled that during the past two years, the program — Smile — has covered 150,000 students and 1,800 teachers in 2,700 schools in 42 education department offices. “We want to extend this proven program to another 900,000 students — both boys and girls — in the intermediate and high schools,” Prince Sultan added.
UNWTO’s Ulysses Special Jury Prize is bestowed on projects undertaken by public institutions in tourism (governmental, public-private partnerships), tourism enterprises and non-profit institutions (NGOs, Civil Society), which merit distinction for their innovative contributions to tourism policy, governance, and areas of tourism such as the environmental and new technologies.
“Smile is a program innovated by us to suit our culture and environment,” the prince said, pointing out that it is a long-term program founded to inculcate tourism culture among the generations of students. “The program is geared for reaching the Saudi family through its male and female teenagers and promote their participation in developing domestic tourism.” The prince also said that the SCT had signed agreements with more than 30 government agencies for the successful implementation of this program among the students.
“We are ready to launch the next phase which would cover a larger group of students comprising both girls and boys,” Dr. Al-Obeid said, adding that his ministry is happy that it is bestowed with a good opportunity not only to cultivate the tourist culture among the students but also enabled the ministry to take part in the economic development of Saudi Arabia in cooperation with the SCT.
Dr Ali Hamad Al-Kheshaiban, general director of Tourism and Society Program of the SCT, said that under the program, the department of education picks up a group of 30 students from each school for a two-day itinerary which includes a six- hour lecture and a day’s field trip to one of the tourist sites in the vicinity of the school. The lecture program is designed to transfer tourism concepts to students, introduce the practice of tourism and planning between participants and their families which will eventually pave the way for promoting domestic tourism.
“We have a rich culture and heritage which could be portrayed effectively to the tourists with a smile and our traditional Arabian hospitality,” Al-Kheshaiban said
According to the latest report released by Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), domestic tourism in Saudi Arabia is set for a rapid growth in the future as the total income from domestic tourism by the year 2010 is expected to reach SR101.3 billion due to the increased efforts made by the government.
