SCTA, Haia join forces to boost local tourism
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In a unique move, the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) joined forces with the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia) to promote domestic tourism.
Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al Deaileej, director-general of the Haia, and Abdullah Al-Sawat, director-general of the SCTA in Taif, discussed mechanisms of joint cooperation between the two organizations, as well as ways to put into effect articles of cooperation in developing the vital sector.
The meeting discussed prospects of SCTA staff training Haia staff to deal with tourists, especially in Taif.
Domestic tourism is witnessing rapid growth in the Kingdom, with the SCTA recording 5.8 million domestic trips during summer this year, according to a 2014 report that was recently released by the Tourism Information and Research Center (MAS). This is compared with 5.5 m tourist trips during the same period last year, an increase of 5.4%.
The report further said that over SAR6.2 billion was spent on domestic tourism, compared with SAR5 bn during the same period last year, resulting in a 24% increase. By contrast, foreign expenditure exceeded SAR29.6 bn this summer, compared with SAR22.3 bn during the same period in 2013, registering a growth rate of 32.7%.
Dubai, Bahrain and Qatar were at the forefront of tourism destinations, attracting just over half of Saudi tourists, followed by other Middle East countries (29.6%), South Asian countries (9.2%) and Europe and America (10.2%).
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