The second Jeddah Tourism and Travel Exhibition (JTTX 2nd) under the title “Gateway for Tourism” kicked off at Jeddah Hilton, Wednesday. Prince Misha'l Bin Majed, Governor of Jeddah, inaugurated the exhibition held under the auspices of Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) and with collaboration of the Jeddah Chambers of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). The three-day exhibition, organized by 4M and sponsored by Okaz, is held over an area of around 4,800 sq. meters with a participation of more than 200 exhibitors. The exhibition aims at promoting domestic tourism, foster local tourism culture with emphasis on domestic areas of tourist attractions including religious and archeological sites. Maya Halfawi, Chairperson of the exhibition's organizing committee thanked Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah region, and Prince Misha'l for their care and support for tourism and its related activities. Halfawi expects that the exhibition would draw thousands of visitors on a daily basis where they will be acquainted with the Saudi tourism and various sites. “We should not forget that Saudi tourists exceeds four million annually spending around $50 billion,” she said. “The exhibition's second edition is being held in a very important coastal city like Jeddah so as to educate the public about the risk of big spending over tourism abroad and its bad effects on the national economy. The exhibition would help reduce the huge demand on international tourism by shedding light on many successful experiences and local touristic programs which have lately attracted some 20 million local and international visitors to the Kingdom,” Halfawi said. “The exhibition includes many types of tourism and various forms of recreations like treatment and recreation in health resorts, natural reserves, marine tourism, shopping, sports and entertainment tourism,” she said. She appreciated the relentless efforts exerted by activists of youth consultative committee, a part of the SCTA, in organizing the exhibition. Sheikh Saleh Kamel, Chairman of the JCCI, said earlier that the size of the Kingdom's tourism market is estimated at SR80 billion and that reveals the real importance and the vitality of the travel and tourism industry and its positive impact on the national economy. This market would certainly help in providing more job opportunities for Saudi youths interested in this field, he said. __
