SCTNH makes quantum leap in tourism, heritage projects
Important achievements include the approval of 13 initiatives which were given the go ahead in line with the National Transformation Program at more than SR10.480 million.
The Kingdom discovered a human bone, that goes back more than 90,000 years, near the Taimaa Governorate in Tabuk Province, as announced by the commission’s president, Prince Sultan bin Salman in a speech at the French Academy for Fine Arts.
This discovery proves, along with other evidence, that the Kingdom has played a major role in human civilization throughout the ages, and is a connection point between vari- ous cultures.
This discovery is one of the important finds announced by the commission in its heritage research and technology framework carried out by 30 joint Saudi and international missions in a number of the Kingdom’s provinces.
The commission continues to cooperate with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and Turath Charitable Institution to work on historical mosques to maintain and care for them, in addition to showing their religious and urban values.
More than 800 mosques have been included in the program and work is still underway to complete documentation. Maintaining historical mosques will be done in cooperation with the provinces’ governorates, municipalities, professional and charitable establishments, and local donors.
The commission signed an agreement with the Chinese Republic to hold the Trade Routes in the Arabian Peninsula, after the exhibition was shown in US and European museums with great success. The exhibition will start its second phase in the third quarter of 2016, and China will bring a mobile museum to Riyadh about joint culture between China and the Arabian Peninsula.
This year witnessed the launch of after-Umrah tours, implemented in partnership with the Ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs, and Haj and Umrah. The program seeks to make the Kingdom a Muslim destination and organizes tours to various parts of the Kingdom after Umrah pilgrims complete their worship to be introduced to the history of the Kingdom and its role in serving Muslims and Islam.
Tourist festivals held this year witnessed great turnouts, with spring and mid-year festivals experiencing more than 3 million visitors, and achieving more than SR1 billion. Local tours during the summer holidays exceeded 17.8 million, with a growth rate of 44.7 percent, and an estimated income of SR20.6 billion, a growth of 53.7 percent.
The commission started working on museums and the National Transformation Program approved the support of the commission in preparing museum exhibits which stand at 18 in various parts of the Kingdom. The commission prepared a number of Islamic history museums, which are waiting for funding.
RIYADH: This year witnessed many achievements in the tourism and national heritage sector after the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH) moved to the actual implementation of its projects.