Al-Riyadh newspaper

THE tourism sector has of late obtained a profound attention from the officials. This is a clear reflection that the leadership is determined to uplift this sector under policies and strategies that are commensurate with the Kingdom's Vision 2030.

The leadership is keen that tourism should contribute positively in presenting an illuminating image of Saudi Arabia that will make it an attractive haven to tourists from all over the world.

Tourism will have positive repercussions on the national economy, will create more jobs for the young Saudi men and women, achieve entertainment for the citizens and enable them to participate in the process of the comprehensive development in the country.

The Kingdom is rich in tourist potential and its tourist sites have characteristics and features that are not less important than their parallels in many other countries of the world. Saudi tourist sites have rare historic and heritage values.

In addition to the old tourist attractions, the leadership has initiated a number of entertainment and investment projects.

Among others, these include the Neom city where Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman arrived on Aug. 1 to spend his vacation.

By arriving in this new tourist city, the King has underlined the importance of domestic tourism and this action by their monarch will encourage the citizens to travel for tourism inside their own country.

Domestic tourism is much better than the foreign tourism in many ways and reasons, including financial, cultural, social, and security aspects.

Domestic tourism will provide the citizen with an opportunity to know his or her country better and to discover its historical and heritage richness.

We do have great tourist sites starting with Dawmat Al-Jandal in the north where there are lakes and natural sceneries, the mountains and sand dunes of Asir and the antiquities of Najran in the south.

These are in addition to the islands of Jazan, the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah and the fabulous shores of the Eastern Province.

In addition to their natural beauty, all these tourist places offer special services for the adults as well as the children. They all have five-star hotel facilities.

The tourist wealth of our country is manifested by solid facts. There are five Saudi locations which are inscribed on the list of UNESCO's world heritage sites. These include Madaian Saleh, Turaif district in Dariyyah, Historic Jeddah, the desert art in Hail and Al-Nakheel oasis in Al-Ahsa.

The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage is taking good care of these locations and is also working to add some other locations to the UNESCO list.

There are also a number of other tourist and entertainment projects such as Al-Qidiya north of Riyadh and Al-Faisaliyyah in Jeddah, besides the annual festivals such as Janadriyah, Souq Okaz and many others.

The Kingdom enjoys complete security and political stability. This makes it a haven for tourism for both domestic and foreign travelers.

We should, however, continue looking for new tourist sites and exploit the magnetism of the Kingdom as a safe bastion that can meet all the requirements of tourists.

Saudi citizens have every right to be proud of the tourist attractions in their country. They should also be proud of the gigantic tourist and entertainment projects that are currently under construction.