Riyadh Gov. Prince Sattam inaugurated the nationwide domestic tourism program “Saudi Summer 2012” at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Riyadh yesterday.
On arrival, the governor was received by Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission of Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA).
Prince Sattam walked into the richly-decorated exhibition hall to the beat of the traditional folk dance. The ceremony was attended by Jazan Gov. Prince Mohammed bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz, members of the royal family and senior government officials.
The event was organized by the SCTA in cooperation with Tourism Development Councils in various regions in the Kingdom.
The governor, who inaugurated the Saudi summer exhibition, took time to tour the series of stalls that displayed their products and services at the show.
Prince Sattam, who was escorted by Prince Sultan, urged exhibitors to perform better this year to attract more tourists to the Kingdom.
The exhibitors included 27 pavilions highlighting their respective summer festival programs that included 500 varieties of entertainment in various parts of the Kingdom.
In a statement to the press, Prince Sattam stressed the importance of tourism as an economic engine and provider for job opportunities for citizens. He said he is looking forward to supporting major tourism investments in the Kingdom.
Speaking to reporters following the launch, Prince Sultan said the Kingdom has the largest tourism market in the region.
“We have accomplished much more than what we achieved last year,” the prince said. “However, we are still behind in the development of promotion of domestic tourism since we have not invested as we should have done.”
“We have the largest tourism market in the region, but we have lost about seven years during which neighboring countries have invested and developed their tourism significantly. With concerted efforts, we can reach the target successfully within three years,” the prince added.
He pointed out the development of national tourism in the economic sector in the Kingdom requires fundamental investments, as well as a system of infrastructure services that can only be carried out by the state, and subsequently, the private sector could contribute to developing such projects.
Prince Sultan said the latest forecast indicates the rise in the volume of domestic tourist trips this summer, noting the Tourism Information and Research Center expects domestic tourism to grow by 5 percent during the summer this year compared to the previous year.
According to SCTA, the number of trips to festivals is expected to increase to 8.8 million visitors from 8 million in 2011 and tourist spending for the summer this year will amount to SR 7.4 billion compared to SR 6.5 billion last year, an increase of 14 percent.
Referring to the presence of Prince Sattam, Prince Sultan said it was a great source of pride and inspiration to promoters who are involved in the domestic tourism sector. He thanked the governor for the assistance given by his governorate toward the success of this event.
The prince also extended his gratitude and appreciation to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for his support and assistance for the tourism sector.
Recently, the Council of Ministers approved the National Strategy of Handicraft and its operational plan toward the development of the tourism sector. The Council of Ministers also approved the affiliation of SCTA with King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (Darah).
The prince pointed out this year’s summer festivals would provide 3,800 temporary jobs during the summer. Last year, he said the 23 festivals provided 3,200 jobs.
Speaking to Arab News, Abdullah Al-Jehani, SCTA’s vice president for tourism, said the organization has stepped up its promotion campaign to attract more tourists locally and from the region.
“We have enlisted the cooperation of five leading local travel operators to provide tour packages to those in the Kingdom as well as in the region,” he said, adding SCTA is also targeting both citizens and residents under the program.
Among locals, he said, popular destinations include Makkah, Madinah, the Eastern Province and Asir, while visitors from the Gulf region like to visit Taif and Asir in addition to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.
SCTA Consultant for Makkah Province Dr. Hesham Madani told Arab News that summer is the peak season where people rush in large numbers to Jeddah. He said the housing occupancy rate in the city reaches over 90 percent during this period.
“We look forward to the summer season this year to achieve a quantum leap in the quality of services compared to past seasons," he added.
Madani said the directives of Prince Sultan focus on quality control and ensuring that required standards for establishing accommodation businesses are adhered to.
Dr. Khaled Al-Harthi, chief executive officer of the ARC Consulting Group that is organizing the festival in Jeddah, told Arab News this year the summer program would have a large variety of entertainment, family, social and recreational shows to attract visitors.
“We are expecting more than 4 million visitors this year,” he said.
Majed Al-Hokair from the Abdulmosin Alhokair Tourism and Development Group said SCTA had done an excellent job in organizing the summer festival.
