Saudi Arabia is an important country for Monaco in terms of tourism, Michel Bouquier, President of the Monaco Tourism and Convention Authority, told a press conference here, Monday. Bouquier, currently on a visit to the Kingdom, said the number of Saudis visiting Monaco, a city state on the French Riviera, rose from 4,800 in 2010 to 6,000, an increase of 19.7 percent during the first half of 2011. He said Saudis form about 40 percent of the total number of travelers from the GCC countries. He said the number of Saudi families visiting Monaco is increasing every year. Bouquier will launch “Destination Monaco” as part of a tourism promotion campaign and organize a series of events in Riyadh and Al-Khobar. The shows are aimed at highlighting tourism attractions in Monaco, he said. Monaco does not have a representative office in the Kingdom, he said. However, he said Monaco is a member of the Schengen countries and tourists with Schengen visas can visit Monaco. He said Monaco with a population of 34,000 inhabitants is just a six-minute helicopter flight from Nice. There are about 50 helicopter flights on a daily basis from Nice to Monaco, he said. With 2,600 hotel rooms, Monaco has a very limited capacity and for that reason the country targets selective tourists from across the world. __
