Kingdom to spend SR300bn on tourism

Saudi Arabia plans to spend more than SR300 billion on facilities related to tourism such as hotels and airports, according to a report issued by Al-Mazaya Holding Co. The report said public and private sectors should focus on corporate, governmental and group tourism rather than individuals, such as conferences and events to attract investment. The report dealt with a Saudi Council Of Ministers' resolution on the expansion of conference tourism on the grounds the Kingdom represents a good business center and a key driver of economic growth in the region. Tourism involving conferences and fairs is a promising sector, however, it has not been exploited sufficiently in the Middle East in general and Saudi Arabia in particular do to the non-existence of such facilities in these regions, the report said. Care should be given to this kind of tourism to cope with the growing demand for conferences and functions, the report said. A number of experts believe the Middle East region needs more effort to develop this promising sector, as infrastructure for conference tourism still remains behind certain countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany, and the United States.