RIYADH — Sattam Al-Balawi, chairman of the Saudi Tour Guides Association, said that the prices of housing units and services provided for domestic tourism in the Kingdom are very much affordable to all segments of the society. "Personally I had two experiences in Taif and Abha during the summer program titled 'Our Summer and your vibes' during which I monitored and found that the prices of housing units and services provided are many times lower than that of Europe," he said. Speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette, Al-Balawi noted that tourists and visitors should plan their tourist trips well in advance so that they can benefit from these cheaper rates, saying that hotels and service providers, including airline companies, promote advance reservations with attractive packages. He said that members of his association receive direct calls on a daily basis, from leading international tourism companies from several big countries such as the United States of America, Britain, Russia and Germany. Al-Balawi said that the tourism sector in the Kingdom is witnessing robust growth. He said the Ministry of Tourism and the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) have contributed to the marketing of various destinations in a remarkable way, which led to doubling the participation of the private sector during the winter and summer seasons. This has also motivated members of the association to raise their target to qualify as many as 2,500 tourist guides this year. Al-Balawi said that the Ministry of Tourism aims to open 38 tourist sites in seven tourist destinations by 2022, compared to 15 sites in four tourist destinations that are ready to receive tourists at present. Tourism projects have been divided into 24 prominent sites, 38 sites with great potential, and 500 complementary sites, which are additional sites of tourist importance and complement the tourism experience. According to Al-Balawi, the 2030 Tourism Map is based on two main phases. The first phase will continue until 2022 before the launch of mega projects. It comes under the title "Discover Saudi Arabia." The second phase will start from 2022 and will run through until 2030 and it will be titled "Live the Saudi Experience." It is noteworthy that "Our Summer and Your Vibes" summer program witnessed over 500 tourism experiences that were held with participation of more than 250 private sector partners.
