The delegation was on a familiarization trip invitation from Al-Faisaliah Hotel. In addition to the meeting with SCTA and Saudi tour operators, the program included a tour of Riyadh and its major landmarks and places of interest for Riyadh visitors. The delegation was also introduced to new developments in the Saudi travel and hospitality industry and to the major projects taking place in the Kingdom.
The delegation was introduced to the 4 and 5-star hospitality industry and the new hospitality projects offered by Riyadh's real estate investors and developers taking place in the next two years. In this respect they visited Al-Faisaliah Hotel's multi-million dollar new South Wing, which is owned by Al-Khozama Management Company, and which will be hosting the first ladies only health and wellness centre in an international hotel chain. The developments in the aviation industry were also demonstrated by Nas Air.
The panel discussion which took place at Al-Faisaliah Hotel's business venue "Al Majlis 3" focused on several points: The type of travel from the UAE to the Kingdom, traffic trends, present and future traffic potential, obstacles to development, and the needs of the UAE travel industry to be able to promote travel from the UAE to the Kingdom.
From the UAE side, the organizations were represented by their senior management and included: Nas Air's UAE office represented by Country Manager Mazhar Syed, Dubai National Travel Agency (DNATA), Ajman National Travel Agency (ANTA) Sharjah Travel Experts (SATA), Ras Al-Khaimah National Travel Agency (RANTA), Al-Nabouda Travel and Tourism Agencies, Kanoo Travel, Orient Travel, BCD travel, Sharaf Travel, Al-Mahboub Travel and Rosewood Hotels of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
From the Saudi side, SCTA Marketing department was represented by Majed Al-Shabanah, project manager. Saudi tour operators included Jawla tours from Madinah, My Triptime tours from Al-Qassim, Fursan Travel and Bon Voyage from Riyadh. Rosewood Hotels in Riyadh; Al-Faisaliah Hotel and Hotel Al-Khozama were represented by Khaled Al-Idrissi, director of marketing. The panel discussion was moderated by Randa Saab, marketing and PR consultant.
Nasir Jahan Khan, GM, Al-Nabooda Travel, said that presently traffic from the UAE to the Kingdom was mainly for religious and business purposes as well as UAE nationals visiting friends and relatives in Saudi Arabia. He said that there was little awareness about the Kingdom's tourism market among the UAE expatriate community. "The Saudi embassy in the UAE needs to help create this awareness by providing information and facilitating travel, and simplifying the visa formalities. "Information is required on places of interest in Saudi Arabia, and type of tourism available as well as tour packages inside the Kingdom," Khan said.
