The summer vacations are almost about to end. Despite such a long vacation, the domestic tourism scene remained largely dull and boring. I may not be able to prove this claim statistically, as it is based on my observations. Most people I know left the country to enjoy this long summer break abroad. I could hardly think of any relative or friend who did not go abroad during this time.
This is not such a healthy trend given the economic difficulties we are currently experiencing and it warrants immediate response from all relevant quarters. Despite the economic issues engulfing the region at the moment, Saudis seem to have a decent amount of surplus that they are willingly to spend overseas without a second thought. Is it overconfidence or sheer recklessness and shortsightedness?
On the other hand, economical slowdown or not, it is another indication that we don’t have many tourist attractions and we have limited entertainment options. I truly hope our Authority for Entertainment is monitoring this trend very closely, as it has a tough journey ahead to accomplish its goals set by the Saudi Vision 2030.
According to the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH), Saudis are expected to spend more than SR86 billion (around $22.9 billion) on tourism abroad this year. It is quite understandable that one of their major challenges is to deal with social customs and norms of what tourism means and what entertainment might entail for both individuals and families. Truth be told, summer festivals that are organized in most cities across the Kingdom are one of the major accomplishments of the SCTNH.
However, we need to do more to improve the situation and join hands with the authorities to help boost domestic tourism. We need to make suggestions to improve these festivals and to introduce more entertaining activities. We cannot rely only on the government to come up with creative ideas in this regard.
Furthermore, when talking about domestic tourism, I really hope to differentiate between the religious part of it, Umrah and Haj, and tourism in the sense of seeing locals and overseas visitors choosing to spend time in the country for the sole purpose of having a good time. According to the report of SCTNH, tourism expenditure in the Kingdom is expected to exceed SR144.3 billion ($38.4 billion) this year.
We cannot blame the government for this issue. The private sector should also take initiatives to boost domestic tourism. Investors should not only focus on building new hotels, they should make huge investments in the development of tourism infrastructure in the Kingdom. After all, at the end of the day they will be the beneficiaries of these investments. There is a lot of potential in the Kingdom. Investors should come up with creative ideas like theme parks, theaters, museums and art galleries etc.
It is a long road ahead of us, but we need to start immediately. Keeping a part of that huge sum of money we spend outside, and attracting visitors to spend in the local market seems like an attractive goal to pursue. And above all, providing options for people to enjoy their free time is a valuable source of enrichment as well; they could work better, and have a better health.
This is not such a healthy trend given the economic difficulties we are currently experiencing and it warrants immediate response from all relevant quarters. Despite the economic issues engulfing the region at the moment, Saudis seem to have a decent amount of surplus that they are willingly to spend overseas without a second thought. Is it overconfidence or sheer recklessness and shortsightedness?
On the other hand, economical slowdown or not, it is another indication that we don’t have many tourist attractions and we have limited entertainment options. I truly hope our Authority for Entertainment is monitoring this trend very closely, as it has a tough journey ahead to accomplish its goals set by the Saudi Vision 2030.
According to the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH), Saudis are expected to spend more than SR86 billion (around $22.9 billion) on tourism abroad this year. It is quite understandable that one of their major challenges is to deal with social customs and norms of what tourism means and what entertainment might entail for both individuals and families. Truth be told, summer festivals that are organized in most cities across the Kingdom are one of the major accomplishments of the SCTNH.
However, we need to do more to improve the situation and join hands with the authorities to help boost domestic tourism. We need to make suggestions to improve these festivals and to introduce more entertaining activities. We cannot rely only on the government to come up with creative ideas in this regard.
Furthermore, when talking about domestic tourism, I really hope to differentiate between the religious part of it, Umrah and Haj, and tourism in the sense of seeing locals and overseas visitors choosing to spend time in the country for the sole purpose of having a good time. According to the report of SCTNH, tourism expenditure in the Kingdom is expected to exceed SR144.3 billion ($38.4 billion) this year.
We cannot blame the government for this issue. The private sector should also take initiatives to boost domestic tourism. Investors should not only focus on building new hotels, they should make huge investments in the development of tourism infrastructure in the Kingdom. After all, at the end of the day they will be the beneficiaries of these investments. There is a lot of potential in the Kingdom. Investors should come up with creative ideas like theme parks, theaters, museums and art galleries etc.
It is a long road ahead of us, but we need to start immediately. Keeping a part of that huge sum of money we spend outside, and attracting visitors to spend in the local market seems like an attractive goal to pursue. And above all, providing options for people to enjoy their free time is a valuable source of enrichment as well; they could work better, and have a better health.
