TAIF — The Kingdom will witness as many as 57 summer festivals during this year and they are expected to draw over 11 million visitors, according to Prince Sultan Bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA). Inaugurating this year's summer festivals at King Abdullah Park here on Thursday evening, he said that the festivals are expected to generate revenues worth over SR11 billion and create temporary jobs for 5,500 Saudis. They will showcase the cultural and heritage features of various cities and regions. The launching ceremony was attended by Fahd Bin Abdulaziz Bin Muammar, governor of Taif, and several other officials. Several cultural and recreational programs were held on the occasion. Prince Sultan said that picking Taif as the venue for launching this year's summer festivals demonstrated the importance given by SCTA to this major tourist destination. He said that the festivals would focus on promoting domestic tourism by highlighting the tourist destinations and attractions in each region of the Kingdom. “We focus on giving an integrated tourism package to the citizens to enjoy the beauty of their country, create maximum job opportunities for them and generate more revenue for the regions,” he said. Almost all cities and regions across the Kingdom are going to witness a wide variety of social, cultural, recreational, heritage, desert, shopping and sports events and activities as part of the festivals. The festivals will present a unique and excellent opportunity to promote domestic tourism by unveiling the Kingdom's diverse tourism potential in front of Saudi society as well as those from outside the Kingdom. Taif is hosting four festivals consisting of the Taif Sweet Festival, Honey Festival, Fruit Festival and Souk Okaz. Riyadh Province and the Eastern Province will witness four major festivals each.
