Authorities are taking steps to improve the Kingdom's tourism and antiquities resources which will contribute to national economic growth and provide better international understanding of the country's culture and heritage. Early this month, Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), addressed the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies, an independent center of Oxford University in UK that provides a meeting point between the Islamic and Western worlds of learning. In his lecture on Saudi Arabia's heritage and culture, Prince Sultan revealed that the Kingdom will hold a series of international exhibitions to showcase the country's rich culture and antiquities. He said the first event is the Saudi Archeology Exhibition at the Louvre Museum in Paris in mid-July 2010, which will eventually tour other museums around the world. Within the Kingdom, Prince Sultan said, several programs have been implemented to provide a better understanding of the importance of Saudi tourism. The initiatives include the following: u Investing in the cultural education of citizens, particularly Saudi youth, so that they can better appreciate the values of their heritage and their national identity through the establishment of new museums and the restoration of historic sites that will be converted into cultural and educational centers. u Introducing the public, particularly Saudi teachers and students, to antiquity sites and museums through tours, awareness programs, and classroom instruction so that they can recognize the value of their heritage and cultural identity. u Rehabilitating historic town centers, traditional villages and markets all over the country. u Establishing archives on the history of the Kingdom, which will house written material, photographs and artifacts collected by the King Abdul Aziz Foundation and Library, the King Fahd Library and Al-Turath Foundation. Prince Sultan stressed during his lecture at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies that these initiatives and projects have the added benefit of generating economic value and employment, challenging citizens to be active in the protection of their heritage and achieving these goals. There are currently 14 Provincial Tourism Offices (PTO) across the country that are now implementing various tourism development projects and programs to improve the Kingdom's tourism and antiquities resources. Prince Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Muhammad Bin Ayyaf Al-Muqrin, Secretary General of Riyadh Region and Chairman of the Tourism Development Council in the Central Region, said that the tourism sector is now being integrated in all national institutions in order to gain more support. He revealed this earlier this week while patronizing the graduation ceremony of the first batch of 80 Saudi trainees of the Abdul Mohsin Al-Hokair Higher Institute for Hotel Training in Jeddah. An agreement to develop the city center, including the Historic Area, the seafront and the neighboring lakes, was signed on June 10 between Adel Fakieh, Mayor of Jeddah, and Dr. Ghassan Al-Sulaiman, chairman of the board of directors of the Urban Development Company which will be responsible for the execution of the project. The Saudi Post also has signed an agreement with SCTA to jointly support national tourism development programs and activities, as well as those related to improving social services. With all these development programs and initiatives to improve the Saudi tourism industry, a robust growth of the sector is projected. Dr. Salah Al-Bakhit, SCTA vice president for investments, making a presentation on the prospects of the investment environment of tourism in the Kingdom during the Cityscape 2010 exhibition in Jeddah, said tourism revenues in the Kingdom this year will reach SR66 billion, a growth of 4.76 percent from 2009. He said the expected revenue for the periods 2015 and 2020 will reach SR118 billion and SR232 billion, respectively.
