RIYADH, 6 May 2003 — Prince Sultan ibn Salman, secretary-general of the Supreme Commission for Tourism (SCT), will lead a delegation to the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai. The delegation will also include Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Fahd bin Abdullah, SCT’s deputy secretary-general, as well as other important officials.
The SCT travels to Dubai with a blueprint to expand the Saudi tourist industry and create 1.8 million jobs over the next 20 years. Prince Sultan will inaugurate the Saudi pavilion at the show which is the biggest travel and tourism event in the Middle East.
“Saudi Arabia currently allows foreigners to visit the country as tourists and is also expanding travel privileges for pilgrims beyond the holy sites,” Prince Sultan said. The prince views as a priority the development of an efficient tourist work force and he believes Saudis should be the majority of that work force.
According to Prince Sultan, a comprehensive five-year plan is currently in place to promote tourism in Saudi Arabia. As part of these plans, the Kingdom issued over 6,500 visas to foreign tourists in 2001. The plan expects that by 2020, 34.3 million tourists will visit the Kingdom and 11.6 Saudis will travel abroad.
In 2000, tourism in Saudi Arabia generated some SR37.8 billion and employed 489,000 people. Revenues by 2020 are expected to exceed SR86 billion with 1.8 million jobs.
A recent report on Gulf travel and tourism said that the Kingdom boasted a number of natural attractions. In addition to the desert — including the vast Empty Quarter — there are also mountains, green valleys and the Red Sea with its beaches and world-class diving. The country is also rich in archaeological and cultural sites including spectacular tombs and dwellings carved in sandstone some 2,000 years ago by the Nabateans who also created Petra in Jordan.
The Kingdom has 7,068 hotels with 41,000 rooms compared to the GCC’s combined room number of 82,000. Saudi Arabia also has 3,354 public parks all over the country. The parks cover a total area of 44.6 million square meters. The Kingdom has 22 regional and four international airports in addition to an ever-expanding road network.
