month family entertainment program with more than 500 events will be held around the Kingdom beginning on July 4, said Badr Bin Khalid Bin Abdulmohsen Al-Hokair, assistant to the Executive Manager of Al-Hokair group, who spoke at a press conference here on Tuesday. The entertainment program, which is being held under the theme “Vacation with Benefit”, aims to stimulate domestic tourism and attract a large number of visitors. “Our special programs will be held in eight cities around the Kingdom targeting three million visitors and tourists,” said Al-Hokair. “We will be providing entertainment that will be of interest to all the members of the family. There will be something for everyone,” he added. According to Al-Hokair, the three-month program will include themes, such as, outstanding students in Saudi schools, traditional Ramadan nights, and Eid celebrations. “There will be sports programs as well as social, educational and entertainment events, including comedy shows presented by famous actors, theater for children as well as adults, and a children's painting competition,” added Al-Hokair. In addition there will be several programs designed to develop children's thinking and learning skills which will be supervised by experts in children's education. “These educational programs will help children develop their ability to think and to learn. Our staff has been specially trained to monitor these programs which are both fun and educational,” he said. According to Al-Hokair, the special entertainment programs on offer over the next three months will encourage Saudis to spend the summer holidays in the Kingdom by promoting domestic tourism at a reasonable price. “The city of Jeddah receives millions of visitors every year. There is a need for an increase in the number of entertainment complexes and malls in order to accommodate these people,” said Al-Hokair, adding that efforts must also be made to control the prices that are charged from visitors to the city. A price structure has already been outlined by the Tourism Commission at the Jeddah Chamber for Commerce and Industry (JCCI), and by the Supreme Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, he pointed out. Al-Hokair spoke of the gigantic development projects that are underway in Jeddah which have attracted investment opportunities in the tourism sector. “More than 50 billion riyals has been spent in the last two years to build new hotels, apartments, spas, restaurants, entertainment complexes, and malls which is dramatic proof of the importance of the tourism sector to the Kingdom's economy,” he said. “These developments have made Jeddah a prominent tourism destination in the Middle East and have encouraged us to open eight entertainment complexes in the city,” he added. Al-Hokair announced the establishment of four academies in the Kingdom, which will specialize in the tourism and hotel sector. “These academies, which will be located in Riyadh, Jeddah, Jizan and Tabouk, will prepare young male and females Saudis for a career in various aspects of the tourism industry,” he said.
