Elaf Group, one of the leaders in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has announced that it expects the tourism and travel sector to perform well in 2008, building on the remarkable economic growth achieved by the Kingdom in recent years. Elaf pointed to reports and surveys affirming an economic boom throughout the Gulf due to high oil prices, which in turn have boosted the volume of private and public investments in religious and leisure tourism; infrastructure; and real estate. Saudi Arabia has benefited significantly from this trend as it has the appropriate cultural, educational, and social foundations to attract both regional and international tourists. Ziyad Ahmed Bin Mahfouz, recently appointed Elaf Group's CEO by the Saudi Economic and Development Company (SEDCO), said: “Tourism generates several job opportunities in the Kingdom and 12 percent of work prospects throughout the world. It is also a major investment attraction, which is what we want to take advantage of. We have various hotels in Jeddah, Riyadh, Abha and Najran, which have contributed in raising nationalization rates from 30 percent to 60 percent.” “Elaf will focus its strategy on leveraging the emergence of tourism as an important economic sector for Saudi Arabia and the world. We are particularly interested in advancing religious tourism,” he said. “We will develop domestic and international services that will cater to the unique needs of tourists who wish to visit the Kingdom for religious reasons through our offices in Egypt, Morocco, Turkey and the UK,” added Bin Mahfouz. Elaf a member of American Society of Travel Agents. __
