[gallery size="medium" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" td_gallery_title_input="The sand dunes of Thumamah" ids="99717,99718,99719,99720,99721"] Saudi Gazette report THE sand dunes of Thumamah, east of Riyadh, is the favorite destination for the residents of the Saudi capital who wish to spend quality time away from the hustle and bustle of the city. However, this weekend getaway has not seen any development in years and still lacks the simplest services, Al-Riyadh daily reports. Many have called upon the authorities to plant more trees to reduce the dust and air pollution in the area. As attractive as it is, Thumamah is replete with trash and soft drink cans. Quad bikes are scattered everywhere, posing a threat to the safety of children. Salim Al-Otaibi who goes to Thumamah almost every weekend hopes the place would become more organized so that people could enjoy their visits to the maximum. "It is sad that we cannot find a safe place for our children to play. Quad bikes can be seen all over the place. You cannot leave your children unwatched or they might get hit by one of these bikes," he complained. He called upon the authorities to set up entertainment and recreation facilities to accommodate the large number of visitors who go to Thumamah on weekends. Mojeb Al-Qahtani, a Saudi, described Thumamah as an unclean place that lacks any recreation facilities. The only activity for teenagers and children is quad bikes, which are dangerous to ride. He wondered why Thumamah has not seen any major development so far. "We need recreation facilities for men, women and children and more organized entertainment activities for the youth. The newly formed General Authority for Entertainment (GAE) should focus more on young men because they do not seem to find any recreational activities. The only entertainment available here is horse-riding and quad bikes. Horse-riding costs about SR50-SR60 an hour while quad bikes charge SR10-SR20 an hour," he said. Muhammad Al-Mojel, a citizen, suggests that the government provide some incentives for investors to encourage them to build entertainment facilities. For example, prices of land should be reduced while contracts should be long-term. If an investor wishes to build an entertainment city, he would need to invest a huge sum of money and then wait for quite a long time until he sees any returns from the investment. "One of the things that might discourage investors from investing in entertainment cities is the return on profits, which is not as high as in other projects. That is why the government should offer easy leasing facilities to investors," he explained. Abdulaziz Al-Hassan, director of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage's Riyadh branch, asserted that the commission and the GAE work together to bolster the tourism and entertainment sector all over the country. "We also work with partners from the private sector to improve and develop all sites of attractions across the country to enhance the overall performance of the sector. We are working on setting standards and procedures for building entertainment facilities to be a guide to prospective investors," he said.
