The prince was launching the summer festival program at the Nayyara Hall in Riyadh on Sunday.
He recalled last year there were 6.9 million local trips to various domestic destinations that included cultural and archaeological sites, hills and beaches in the Kingdom.
"This year, studies have revealed that we would receive around 8.8 million local tourists. The anticipated income that could be generated this year would be SR10.4 billion against SR8 billion last year, up 31 percent."
During this summer, the prince said a number of festivals and programs have been lined up in all parts of the Kingdom to ensure an enjoyable family holiday for citizens.
Describing the enormous potential in the tourism sector, Prince Sultan said: "We have a variety of natural resources that would attract both local and foreign tourists. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has offered necessary incentives and encouragement to develop this sector to fulfill growing demand among tourists.”
He pointed out that the number of hotels in various regions has doubled and said that the government is encouraging the hospitality industry to improve further.
While fixing reasonable rates for accommodation, the prince said the Kingdom is liaising with the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) to train around 10,000 citizens to work in the tourist industry.
It is estimated that the Kingdom's tourist industry could provide around 2.3 million job opportunities for locals by 2020, the prince noted.
The prince also said the industry needs improvements in roads as well as a transport system in the Kingdom. "We are thankful to other related sectors that join hands with the SCTA to boost tourism in the country," he added.
Spelling out the developing trends in the sector, he said at present a good number of citizens prefer spending their holidays locally to going abroad in summer vacation. Following the launch, Prince Sultan toured the exhibition held concurrently with the launch ceremony. An array of books on the Kingdom was on display at the show.
The launch was also attended by secretary-general of the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development Prince Bandar bin Saud bin Mohammed, chairman of the Tourism Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry Prince Abdullah bin Saud bin Mohammed, and Undersecretary at the Al-Ahsa governorate Fahad Al-Jubeir.
