Prince Sultan Bin Salman, Chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), outlined plans for boosting local tourism in the Kingdom. “We are looking to attract citizens to stay in the country. There are so many facilities and places for the people to enjoy. The young can also learn more about their heritage and traditions,” Prince Sultan said while addressing a forum on the Future of Tourism in the Middle East and North Africa in the United Arab Emirates. He also underlined the leadership's desire to boost local tourism alluding to progressive laws and procedures to facilitate growth in the sector. Prince Sultan said more than 2.5 million visitors and tourists visited exhibitions organized by the SCTA in various parts of the Kingdom. These exhibitions generated more than SR7.7 billion in revenue annually. In 2011, more than 741,000 domestic tourist flights were logged. The tourist sector employs 7% of the national manpower and the rate of the localization in the tourist sector has reached a healthy 26%. He said the Information and Tourist Research Center “Mass” – an affiliate of SCTA – has released a report which showed that 486,505 Saudis visited destinations abroad during schools' half-term holidays. Their total spending equaled SR1.65 billion, an average of SR3394 per person.
