Summer 2008 kicks off

FRONT PAGE

By: Kholood F. Al-Rhamah

Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH – “Unforgettable” is the word that the Supreme Commission of Tourism (SCT) has been striving to label this year’s domestic tourism through its recently announced package of summer festivals and activities across the Kingdom.As the country is slowly transforming into a tourist attraction, around 25 major summer festivals will be launched across the Kingdom with the beginning of the 2008 summer break today.

The Kingdom’s summer festivals are sponsored and organized by various departments including the regions’ Emirates, municipalities, Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and tourism development authorities. “The year 2008 is bringing a spectacle of events to the Kingdom as we are trying to have a unique quality of festivals this year with a lot of efforts put into that.

The mistakes committed in the past will not be repeated as the SCT seeks a total positive summer experience for tourists in the Kingdom,” said Dr. Abdullah Bin Salman Al-Juhani, deputy of secretary general of SCT for media and marketing.“Nobody is left behind this year. We’ve planned more new activities and programs for different age groups to draw more locals,” Juhani added.

Shouldering the responsibility of coordinating among different government and private agencies, the SCT has launched campaigns for summer entertainment and adventurous activities in Riyadh, Jeddah, Abha, Najran, Taif, Tabuk, Hail, Jizan and many other cities, Juhani said.

“If history is your thing, then these cities are thriving with cultural aspects,” he added.Phase one of the promotion campaign called “Saudi Arabia Joy Summer 08” was launched on April 26. “We want families to enjoy their summer vacation inside Saudi Arabia for which we’ve launched the campaign so early,” Dr. Fahd Al-Garbooa, deputy assistant of secretary general for marketing at SCT said.

The promotion started right after the spring break to help families to have an idea of local tourism so they would start arranging their trips before getting busy with final exams, he said.Each city has its own way in celebrating the summer break with festivals inspired by the city’s tradition and culture.

In addition to “Riyadh Shopping Festival 2008” organized by the city’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry where prices are slashed to half, the city will hold entertainment activities at its shopping malls and public parks, Garbooa said.With a major inflow of 3 million tourists, diverse and energetic Jeddah will continue with its annual ‘Jeddah is Different’ or ‘Jeddah Ghair’ for 45 days, he said.

A big chunk of tourists to Jeddah come to perform Umrah as the city serves as a gateway to Makkah and Madinah. Taif will also have its annual festival “Taif Is More Beautiful” or ‘Taif Ahla’ at King Fahd Sports City in Hawiyah.Further south, the beautiful city of Abha will launch its 10th annual festival dubbed “Abha Tourism” under the patronage of Prince Faisal Bin Khaled, Emir of Asir.

Tourists are said to expect some pleasant surprises.In the Eastern Province, Ahsa will hold its 3rd annual summer festival with theater shows and poetry reciting.Other summer festivals are also planned in Qassim, Buraidah, Onaizah and Hail.

Tourism to help shape the future economy

By Kholood F. Al-Rahmah

Saudi Gazette

Monday, 23 June 2008

JEDDAH – The tourism industry in the Kingdom is picking up steam with a new strategy to attract a high inflow of 25 percent of total domestic tourists of foreign tours by 2025.

It might be one generation away, but work has already begun. The Supreme Commission of Tourism (SCT) has launched an ambitious plan to develop the virgin areas along the Kingdom’s 1800-km long Red Sea coast at a cost of nearly SR150 billion to position the area as a premier vacation destination.

The new strategy was authorized as part of a comprehensive package by the Council of Ministers to establish a multitude of coast attractions along the Red Sea. Prince Sultan Bin Salman, Secretary General of the SCT, said that this ambitious development project of the Red Sea coast would continue through 2025.

“It will be gradually executed to yield desired results,” he said. As a wealth of resorts, attractions, and recreational facilities along the Red Sea would be tucked between and behind modern concrete monoliths, the development plan has sought to keep the coast’s natural beauty intact, he said.

New resorts will be established in Arrayes in Yanbu, Ras Muhaisen in the Makkah region, Haridha in the Asir region, Farsan in Jizan, and Ras Humaid, Sharma, Qayyal and Dhaffat Al Wajh in the Tabuk region Standing on equal footing with world-class tourism projects to pave the way for a complete tourist experience, the development plan is also expected to provide more than 557,000 hotel rooms and 413,000 job opportunities.

As approved by the Council of Ministers, the new strategy involves other government agencies including the Ministry of Defense and Aviation, the Ministry of Interior, and the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, and the General Presidency of the Meteorological and Environment Protection, and the National Authority for Wildlife Protection.

As the SCT plans its future projects, it has already geared its efforts to raise the bar for this year’s summer experience. With its new responsibly to supervise hotels and rental apartments, the Commission has recently held a workshop to discuss a new mechanism for their overall operations; a job that was handed over to the Commission from the Ministry of Commerce.

“We have many projects in the development program, including the foundation project to upgrade the hotel industry, including its training and future expansion plans,” said Dr. Salah Bakhiet, Deputy Secretary General of SCT for Investment.

The Commission has obtained stats to build a database for connecting all hotels and rental apartments in the Kingdom in one integrated network, he said.As the number of tourists and visitors to the Kingdom has increased, so has the number of hotels opening the door for unprecedented business opportunities in the Kingdom, he said.

The tourism sector, including Haj and Umrah, currently contributes six percent to the Kingdom’s GDP, or SR55 billion. The new resorts are expected to attract about 19 percent of total domestic tourists. Annual tourist spending is valued at SR9.9 billion.

To further its efforts to boost its tourism economy, the Commission has responded with a program called ‘Attracting Investment’ which helps both small and big tourism investment firms to find profitable business opportunities in the new development program along the Red Sea,Bakhiet said.