MAKKAH: A tourism expert has stressed the significance of promoting the potentials of winter tourism in the Makkah province in particular and in the Kingdom in general.
“Winter tourism is as important as summer tourism and will certainly attract a large number of domestic and Gulf tourists, and will help the tourism industry thrive through out the year,” Luay Qunaitah, chairman of the Tourism Promotion Committee at the Taif Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Arab News on Saturday.
The pleasant winter weather in the Makkah province is a favorable factor for tourism, Qunaitah said. He, however, added that the proper organization of tourism programs and early publicity campaigns are essential factors in attracting tourists.
“The Kingdom can have round the year tourism activities by focusing on locations with winter tourism potentials.
For instance, developing tourism activities, including fishing festivals in the Farasan Island and car rallies in the northern region, will no doubt attract domestic and foreign tourists in large numbers in winter,” the tourism expert said.
He said most of the tourism events in the Kingdom remained local events benefiting only residents in nearby towns because they were organized by individuals with limited potentials.
“Many festivals remain local events mainly because of poor publicity. Another reason is the fact that most employees enjoy their vacations in summer when a wide range of tourism products is available. If attractive tourism festivals are to be organized in winter as well as a considerable number of employees are likely to take vacations in winter. An awareness campaign is an essential ingredient for the success of any tourism festival,” he said.
He also underscored the need for hotels and restaurants at affordable prices at locations close to tourism festivals.
“Apart from building the required infrastructure, preparations and publicity for tourism festivals should start months ahead so that events become widely known. It should be noted that tourists, particularly from abroad or even distant domestic cities, make plans months in advance,” he added.
He also said some neighboring Gulf countries were presenting well-prepared seasonal tourism programs. He cited the examples of popular festivals in Dubai, Kuwait and Oman.
He also stressed the need to hold marketing campaigns for winter tourism events with special art festivals, amusement programs, competitions and discount sales.
Statistical figures issued by the Kingdom’s Tourism Information and Research Center recently showed that more than 20 million people visited 16 Saudi tourism festivals spending SR2.3 billion last summer. They included festivals in Abha, Jeddah, Baha, Jazan, Najran and Riyadh.
