Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), has launched the Saudi Tourism Smartphone Apps, which will furnish tourists with information on the prices of various tourism services enabling them to plan their tours in advance.

The apps were launched recently on the sidelines of an SCTA board of directors meeting at the headquarters here, an official said Saturday.

He said: “The new features of the apps aim to provide information on prices of various tourism services to citizens to enable them to plan ahead for tours within the Kingdom simultaneously serving the tourism destinations and facilities across the Kingdom.”

“The Smartphone apps (free for both iOS and Android) feature a wide range of services allowing easy access to the huge content available on the Saudi tourism website detailing information on tourism sites and services in the Kingdom,” the official added.

It also informs citizens and expats to find the best flight bargains, allows online reservations and provides information on tourism events and festivals for tourists to plan their holidays smartly,” the official stated.

“The new apps aim to allow the citizen’s voice to be heard by the SCTA,” the official declared.

He said the commission will update the Saudi tourism apps that will include futuristic services to allow submission of complaints, report price violations, poor services in the hospitality sector and violations of antiquities.

Besides launching the tourism apps for smartphones, the ceremony also included the launching of the “Saudi tourism blog,” a new website featuring an e-Calendar on tourism events and a new website of the Saudi Travel and Tourism Investment Market (STTIM 2014), an International travel and tourism Investment exhibition and a conference to be held from March 30 to April 3.

According to the official, the Saudi tourism blog is another means to allow citizens to access information and views of specialists and other citizens on the services provided, tourism sites and their experience in domestic tourism through posting the most significant stories

and articles on tourism and link them to social media sites.

He added that the new website of the tourism event e-Calendar is considered a key achievement of the SCTA for providing precise and comprehensive information on schedules, locations and the tourism festivals in the Kingdom.

The official website of STTIM includes the application “Responsive Design” which allows easy access to information and services to the website’s visitors and participants of STTIM through their fixed phone lines and mobile devices.