RIYADH: Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar will patronize the Riyadh Shopping and Entertainment Festival 2016 starting on July 14.

This was announced here at a press conference organized by the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The event, which will last for a month, is organized by the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) for the 12th year in coordination with the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH), Riyadh Tourism Development Board (RTDB) and Riyadh Municipality.

Addressing the conference, Mohammed Al-Moajil, the chairman of Tourism Committee at RCCI, expressed his gratitude to both Riyadh Governor Prince Faisal bin Bandar and President of SCTNH Prince Sultan bin Salman for their strong support of this event that aims to boost business and tourism in the capital during the summer.

“This event will keep the active level of shopping and tourism activities in the capital in the summer, as it usually is during other seasons of the year, with the rich entertainment and shopping activities we have lined up for citizens, residents and visitors of the capital to please and leave them with good memories of the capital this year,” he said.

It is expected that 250 entertainment activities will take place including shows, plays and competitions in 30 participant malls and shopping centers.

“Around SR.5 million in gifts and prizes is allocated to winning participants in these activities, while shoppers will receive 30-70 percent discounts on a lot of purchased items in these malls and centers,” Al-Moajil said.

Commenting on the launch of the festival for this year in its 12th edition, Majid Al-Hokair, the deputy chairman of the Tourism Committee at RCCI, told Arab News that the festival is a very important event for the economy of the capital.




“The importance of the festival stems from two things. One is to keep the capital vibrant during the summer, which is considered low season because many people leave the capital for other destinations, whether in the Kingdom or abroad for summer vacation. The second is retaining who is left of its population and attracting many more from surrounding regions,” he said.

“The festival will help entertain the remaining population in the capital in addition to several other million visitors, estimated at 4.5 million, who come to the capital from surrounding regions. These visitors usually compensate the capital for its leavers in the summer,” he said.

“Seventy percent of these home visitors come from within a radius of 500km of the capital, while the remaining come from the southern regions of the Kingdom and GCC countries, keeping the population in the capital during the summer at almost 90 percent of its usual population year round,” he pointed out.