JEDDAH: A tourism exhibition, entitled “Gateway for Tourism” will be held at the Hilton Hotel here from Dec. 20 to 23 to help boost local tourism, including the Kingdom's religious and archeological sites. The event has been organized by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) and the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), under the patronage of Prince Mish'al Bin Majed Bin Abdul Aziz, Governor of Jeddah. Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al-Amri, the executive director of the General Authority for Tourism and Antiquities in Makkah, said the exhibition aims to boost the industry in many ways. This includes promoting Jeddah as a destination, attracting more domestic and international tourists to various sites across the Kingdom and providing further investment opportunities for local tourism operators. He said the exhibition will include presentations of the largest travel and tourism activities in the Kingdom. Adnan Mandoura, the secretary general of the JCCI, said the four-day exhibition is expected to attract more than 10,000 visitors. The exhibition will be held on a space of 4,800 square meters. According to government statistics, about 20 million local and international tourists visited all regions of the Kingdom this year. The western region saw the most visitors, 59 percent of whom were domestic tourists. Maya Halfawi, the chief organizer of the exhibition, said the exhibition comes at a time when international statistics show that there has been a rise in Saudi tourists going abroad. More than four million Saudi tourists spend more than $50 billion a year on tourism through foreign travel. The exhibition reflects the importance of the Saudi tourism market which is one of the largest markets in the Middle East, as confirmed by tourism statistics, she said. The exhibition will include workshops on tourism marketing, how e-mail marketing can promote tourism products, disseminating and promoting a culture of e-tourism, e-marketing and promotions. Participants at the exhibition will be tourist companies, hotels, and the owners of handicrafts and non-governmental organizations offering tourism programs and activities.
