ALKHOBAR: Over 60,000 Saudis were provided temporary jobs through tourism festivals and events over the last ten years in the various regions of the Kingdom, Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH) has said.

Abdullah bin Abdul Malik Al-Morshid, SCTNH director general of tourism programs and products department, said: “The commission organized about 600 festivals, which created thousands of temporary jobs in the supervising committees, activities and events, along with sales and services.”

He said tourism festivals are among the prominent social activities that generate employment. Such events also help the Saudi productive families to take advantage of the increased buying and selling movement activated on the sidelines of various festivals.

Al-Morshid said the summer festivals this year are distinguished with various activities and events, including environment, heritage and culture, marine, sports and leisure.

“These tourism events provide direct economic benefits to local communities, regions and provinces due to the increased local tourism, high demand for services, in addition to marketing heritage and agricultural products, handicrafts and industries.” he said.

The electronic calendar of the tourism events is available on the SCTNH website; event.scta.gov.sa to enable tourists to choose destinations. In addition, the SCTNH has allocated a phone number 19988 for the tourism contact center equipped with technical means to provide all required information about the tourism events and their locations.