SIGNS of huge success of the largest entertainment activity in the Saudi capital — Riyadh Season – have started appearing. It means entertainment activities in the Kingdom have a promising future. The first of these signs is the success of the recent Entertainment Industry Forum (Joy Forum19). It has also been proved, without an iota of doubt, that the criteria selected by the General Entertainment Authority (GEA) officials are lofty and their goals are to achieve high quality services. Aside from the forum, several professional workshops were held with participation of executives from the biggest international companies in the entertainment and tourism sector. The forum and the other activities on its sidelines have drawn up the features of the strategies and goals of the entertainment industry in Saudi Arabia. These two are among the most important sectors in any given economy. Their importance has increased in Saudi Arabia, as they are among the most important tools to achieve revenue not entirely based on oil. I wrote earlier on the importance of entertainment and tourism industries in strengthening the national economy and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as well as creating job opportunities. All countries are striving to enhance investment opportunities in these two sectors and support the infrastructure that will lay the foundation for attracting capital and using it in entertainment and tourism projects. This will contribute to giving a forward push to the economic cycle and supporting many parallel and subsidiary development sectors — like transport, accommodation, and retail trade, let alone the impact on improving the quality of life in the society. Many have misunderstood investment in the two sectors — entertainment and tourism. They say that it is at the expense of development, health, education and housing projects that are of greater urgency. Actually, it is the state that invests in the infrastructure, while the private sector invests in setting up and operating the entertainment and tourism projects and activities. This is the case in all countries. The consumer benefits from the commodities and services that the entertainment and tourism sectors produce, while the state benefits from the addition to the GDP, creating job opportunities, localizing domestic tourism spending and attracting foreign tourist spending!
