Saleh Fareed Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – The 4th Saudi Travel and Tourism exhibition will be held in Jeddah on Feb. 4-6, 2014 at Jeddah Hilton to help boost local tourism, Adnan Mandoura, Secretary General of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry said. The three-day exhibition is expected to attract around 25,000 visitors and creates thousands of job opportunities for Saudi youth, he noted. He added that the exhibition is supported by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) and the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). “Holding such events and launching tourism projects in Jeddah reflects the wise directives of the leadership, aimed at boosting Saudi Arabia's status in the field and diversifying the Kingdom's sources of income to create more job opportunities to the citizens,” he said. On a space of 4,800 square meters, participants at the exhibition will be tourist companies, hotels, and the owners of handicrafts and non-governmental organizations offering tourism programs and activities. Meanwhile, Maya Halfawi, organizer of the exhibition, said the exhibition aims to boost the industry in many ways. This includes promoting Jeddah as a destination including the Kingdom's religious and archeological sites. “This year's exhibition is attracting more domestic and international tourists to various sites across the Kingdom and providing further investment opportunities for local tourism operators,” she said. The exhibition will focus on medical tourism, environmental and marine tourism, conferences, shopping and all kinds of sports tourism and leisure tourism, she added. She noted that the volume of tourism investment in Jeddah has reached S 60 billion. The presence of Arab and global tourism sectors in such events side by side with the national tourism sectors will help in the provision of high quality tourism services for tourists as well as meeting the expectations of tourists, she added.
