Okaz/Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — The Saudi Tourism Authority is gearing up to launch the Saudi Winter season from Nov. 15. Okaz/Saudi Gazette has learnt from sources that the festival that will run through until April 30, 2021 and will be carried out on a larger scale with a wide variety of programs in as many as 18 destinations.

The authority has decided to expand the festival after the great success of the Saudi Summer season in 10 destinations. The Summer season was instrumental in enhancing awareness among the public about the huge potential of domestic tourism.

The destinations identified for the festival include Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah, Riyadh, Taif, Al-Khobar, Al-Ahsa, Dammam, Abha, Jazan, Al-Baha AlUla, Al-Diriyah, Hail, Tabuk and Umluj.

There will be a focus on winter activities such as land trips, semi-bonfires, barbecues, camping, visiting archaeological and historical sites and beaches.

There will be launch of a number of entertainment programs and events including folklore arts, festivals of cuisine, clothing and handicrafts. The program operations will be managed by tour operators via the electronic platform.

Among the objectives of the winter program is to enable the private sector to develop the domestic tourism sector to attract tourists from within and outside the Kingdom.

Saudi Summer season in numbers: 1- Rouh Saudi application downloads -250,000; 2. Site visitors -600000; 3. Online interactions -123 million; 4. Promotion access from around world -2.3 billion; 5. Tourist destinations -10 and 6. Tourist packages -100.