JEDDAH: The Jeddah Ghair 2011 festival kicked off here Wednesday with colorful and breathtaking fireworks adorning the city's skies for over half an hour making those gathered at the Corniche mesmerized and spell-bound. The 70-day festival, longest in the history of the city, was inaugurated by Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah Region, Prince Abdullah Bin Saud Bin Muhammad, chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (JCCI) Tourism Committee and Chairman of the festival's organizing committee. The festival on the southern Obhur Corniche would feature more than 100 various entertainment programs and tourist, cultural and sports activities. Several authorities concerned with tourism investment, like the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), Jeddah Mayoralty and JCCI, will be in the forefront of these activities. The festival was kicked off with a national operetta depicting the Kingdom's progress and development and the making of Jeddah as a tourist city. Speaking on behalf of Prince Misha'l Bin Majed, Governor of Jeddah, Prince Abdullah said this year's Jeddah Ghair activities will have a diversity of contents and ways of presentation to enthrall the visitors to the Bride of the Red Sea. These activities, he said, would boost the city's status in the Kingdom's tourism arena. Speaking on behalf of the private sector, Adnan Bin Hussein Mandourah, Secretary General of the JCCI, said over 5,000 young men and women would be taking part in the Jeddah Ghair activities. About four million people from Saudi Arabia, Gulf countries and the rest of the world are expected to visit the festival. Revenues from the festival are expected to be up by about 50 percent compared to last year. Tourism revenue in 2009 was about SR50.2 billion. This figure was expected to rise to SR118 billion in 2015 and SR232 billion in 2020.
