DAMMAM: The Arab Tourism Capital 2019 conference will begin on Tuesday at the Makan Hotel in Al-Ahsa, this year’s official Capital of Arab Tourism.
The Saudi Geographical Society (SGS) and the Geography Department at the College of Sharia and Islamic Studies in Al-Ahsa have organized the conference. It will be inaugurated by Prince Badr bin Mohammed bin Jalawi, governor of Al-Ahsa.
The three-day conference — held under the patronage of Prince Saud bin Naif, governor of the Eastern Province — will feature working papers from a myriad of experts from around the Arab world whose work focuses on tourism and its geographical patterns.
Saeed Al-Qarni, head of the geography department at the college, said: “The conference … seeks to shed light on tourism in Al-Ahsa — including transportation, accommodation, food and drink, guidance, communication, and other support services — in addition to studying sustainable tourism in terms of the impact of tourism on the environment and the relationship between tourism and the community.”
Al-Qarni added that many topics will be discussed at the conference, including the environmental and social components of tourism in Al-Ahsa, the current state of tourism in the region, rural tourism in Al-Ahsa, as well as cultural tourism and Arab tourism patterns.