Our country has many ancient monuments and unique historical sites. This heritage is a tourism asset that has remained unused for many years. In the past, cultural and heritage tourism was limited as it was difficult to show others our monuments and historical sites. However, with the radical changes that Saudi Arabia is witnessing today on so many levels, the tourism sector has been reawakened and is opening its arms to everyone from all over the world. The world will soon realize that we are a country with an extraordinarily rich material heritage. We have more than 6,300 cultural heritage locations, many of which are linked to Islamic history and cannot be found in any other part of the Islamic world. There are hundreds of public and private museums spread around different regions of the Kingdom with great treasures that have not yet been promoted. All of this material inheritance will make Saudi Arabia an exceptional tourist destination. This will raise our economy to new levels while we expand the range of our source of income instead of relying only on oil. It is up to researchers and scientists to study our ancient monuments and sites so that they can be reintroduced to the world and people can come to the Kingdom to learn about our culture and heritage. We need professional historical research of an international standard. We need to look upon our material heritage with respect and appreciation, so that others will recognize its true value. Twiitter @SighaAlshammri
