SCTH starts documenting architectural heritage sites

RIYADH — The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), represented by the National Architectural Heritage Center, started a process of inventory and registration of architectural heritage sites around the Kingdom, Al-Hayat newspaper reported. The project comes within the commission's efforts to limit the urban heritage resources and implement the vision of its president, Prince Sultan Bin Salman, in documenting national architectural heritage. Dr. Mishari Al-Naim, general supervisor of the center, explained the need to create a national database to allow researchers, investors and other interested parties to access all information and documents related to the country's architectural heritage. "This would be through the development of an institutionalized system based on the Geographic Information Systems (GIS)," said Al-Naim. The center is creating the database in collaboration with specialized companies so that all information related to the Kingdom's architectural history could be sorted out and stored in a scientific manner. The project consists of two parts: the establishment of a database of important heritage sites in the Kingdom using GIS and then marketing this database to help promote product-based tourism. Meanwhile, a television program will discuss the challenges of the tourist accommodation sector in Saudi Arabia. There will also be a discussion around the rights and duties of individuals. A number of guests from the organization will take part in the discussion. The program welcomes comments and observations from the public through Twitter. The program's presenter Nadira Musa said the episode is dedicated to have a discussion about domestic tourism coinciding with the summer vacation. "The program seeks to create a platform for consumers to voice their views and requirements to guest officials. This particular episode will be held in the headquarters of the commission to educate citizens, answer all questions and inquiries," Musa said.