Two young Saudi women have launched an Internet campaign to promote the Eastern Province as a tourist destination.

Afnan and Anfal, both 24 years old, created an Instagram account entitled “Restaurants, Shops and Hotels in the Eastern Province — Rest and Shop.”

The two are recent Islamic studies graduates. “We came up with the idea almost a year ago when we saw that there was a growing number of shops, restaurants, and cafes in the province. So there was a need to provide information on them to visitors,” said Afnan.

She said that there was no other information on the Internet about restaurants and reviews of their dishes. “So we decided to create an account as a reference for residents and visitors to the province.”

The account has over 33,000 followers, with many people posting messages of thanks and praising the idea. Most people share their experiences, especially on public holidays, she said.

“Instagram is a site of photos, so restaurants should use this opportunity to post photos of their delicious menu items,” she said.