JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia signed contracts worth SR334 million ($89 million) to develop tourism projects, the Saudi Press Agency said. The contracts include building five new regional museums and restoring historical sites, the news service said, citing Ahmed Bin Abdullah al-Shehri, director of procurement and contract management at the Saudi Commission for Tourism & Antiquities. The museums will be in Dammam, Hail, Tabuk, Asir and Al-Baha, the news service said. Saudi Arabia plans to have 2 million tourism jobs within 10 years, up from 457,000, as it promotes its Red Sea coastline and historical sites, including Madain Saleh, as tourist destinations, according to the commission. Tourism revenue is forecast to increase to 118 billion riyals in 2015, compared with 66 billion riyals last year, the Saudi Press Agency reported in June.
