Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Saudi General Entertainment Authority Chief Turki Al-Sheikh said that he is optimistic about the bright future of Saudi Arabia in the tourism and entertainment sector. “I expect that new projects and ambitious initiatives will make us a leading global destination. If the ongoing projects, as well as means of transportation, trains, and airports are completed, the Kingdom will be the world’s leading destination for tourism and entertainment and we will be a big ‘bogeyman’ in tourism and entertainment,” he said in a statement on his X account.

Al-Sheikh spoke about the vast scope for promotion of tourism and entertainment industry in the Kingdom compared to the Western countries. “While I was outside the Kingdom for more than a month, I noticed big differences in the tourism and entertainment sector, compared to what we have in the Gulf and the Kingdom.”

Al-Sheikh said: “I did not find a clean or comfortable cinema there, and the screens and sound systems are old, compared to what we enjoy locally. Restaurants witnessed a deterioration in service and the number of workers, while the quality of food was similar or sometimes better in some of our places.”

He continued: “As for the hotels, most of them are old, and the services in them are below the expected level. The entertainment experience in the amusement parks was also old and not upgraded, which made them less attractive, compared to the Riyadh Season and the entertainment facilities in the Gulf.”