Prince Sultan bin Salman, chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), met with senior officials from domestic and national airlines in the capital on Saturday ahead of the summer holiday season, when demand for local flights is expected to peak.

According to a source from the SCTA, the meeting was held to ensure the availability of flights for domestic tourists during the summer season.

The meeting was attended by Director of Saudi Arabian Airlines Khalid Al-Melhem and Executive Vice President of NAS Holding Bandar Al-Muhanna, in addition to a number of senior officials.

Prince Sultan told the officials that domestic airlines should give priority to local tourists. He also asked them to increase domestic flights during the summer, citing the impact of local tourism on the national economy and the generation of more jobs for nationals.

He said an increase in local flights would help promote tourism in the country and the aviation industry, pointing out that national carriers are partners in domestic tourism.

“The new airport projects, in addition to the new fleet of Saudi Arabian Airlines and the entry of new companies in the domestic travel market, will greatly boost domestic flights and stimulate tourism traffic in the interior regions of the Kingdom next year,” he observed.

Prince Sultan underlined the importance of the recent decision of the Council of Ministers to launch a comprehensive program for streamlining the operations of service centers and gas stations on highways. He said that the availability of better services on these roads would encourage citizens to travel by road and ease pressure on domestic flights.

The meeting also discussed the processing tickets during the summer season. Officials called for better coordination among travel agencies for the development of “beyond Umrah tourism”, as well as local tourism for residents in the Kingdom.

The meeting discussed means of encouraging field trips for students during weekend holidays with the assistance of national airlines and tour operators to foster greater awareness among them about local tourism and the history of their country under the slogan of “Know your country.” The initiative is to be implemented jointly by the SCTA in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Higher Education, national airlines and tour operators.