Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of Supreme Commission on Tourism and Antiquities, presented the General Tourist Guide license to Prince Saud bin Naif, governor of Eastern Province and Badr bin Muhammad bin Jalawy, mayor of Al-Ahsa, on the sidelines of the 2nd Tourist Guide Forum held in Al-Ahsa recently.

The SCTA president said that he presented the tourist guide licenses to the EP governor and Al-Ahsa mayor in recognition of their efforts and effective role played in the development of tourism across the Eastern Province and the Al-Ahsa municipality. “It is also an honor for the tourist guides’ activity and a support to the tourist guides in the Kingdom,” he added.

He said, “Prince Saud has been associated with tourism since he was appointed as the Kingdom’s ambassador to Madrid where he played an important role as the first Saudi representative in the World Tourism Organization (WTO) at its headquarters in Madrid,” adding that Prince Saud also made a major contribution by inducting Arabic in the WTO along with other world languages.

The commission’s president said, “I hope that by granting these licenses, people will be motivated to seek tourist guide licenses themselves to help visitors see the beautiful aspects of their region.”

SCTA’s Al-Ahsa branch director, Ali bin Tahir Al-Haji, said that granting tourist guide licenses to the Eastern Province governor and Al-Ahsa mayor will motivate the local people to follow their example, enhance the tourist guide’s role and join the tourist guide profession in larger numbers.