SCTNH intensifies campaign to boost domestic tourism

RIYADH: The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH) has intensified campaign to boost domestic tourism during the ongoing summer break.
The steps have been taken in view of home tourist destinations failing to attract visitors, as citizens prefer to go abroad for vacations.
The SCTNH has stepped up its information drive on tourism sites, events and offers to enhance its presence at a number of vital public places such as airports, hotels and mega-malls, according to SCTNH’s media department.
This is part of efforts to boost domestic tourism, as well as introduce new tourism facilities, activities and services through modern and effective means, it said.
SCTNH has installed more than 350 automatic electronic information centers working around the clock and which are connected to the Internet in order to be regularly updated and managed. These e-information devices have been installed across the Kingdom to help summer tourists with detailed information on tourism festivals, reservation, prices of accommodation facilities, and restaurants.
“These Tourism Information Centers (TICs) include comprehensive data on all tourism services available in the Kingdom,” said the SCTNH media department on Tuesday.
Moreover, about 1,000 wooden racks, provided with tourism promotional print material, have also been made available to promote domestic tourism, it said.
At the forefront of these campaign is the toll free number, 19988, which communicates with the centers, and companies and tourist facilities to receive their offers and submit them to the callers.
It also provides information about tourism events, reservations and prices of accommodation facilities, restaurants, tourism services and their locations in various districts and provinces of the Kingdom, and other tourist interests.
Furthermore, the SCTNH devotes the tourism portal, www.sauditourism.sa, under the theme “live it and discover it,” as well as the Saudi Tourism accounts on Facebook, Twitter and the YouTube channel. These efforts are aimed at reaching the largest possible number of people in the Kingdom and GCC countries, providing all the information and details of tourism programs and events.
The portal contains a comprehensive guide to architectural and archaeological sites, shopping centers, and provides an important services portal for tourist services such as booking hotels and flights, car rentals and tour guide for all destinations and cities within the Kingdom, in addition to posters for a variety of important landmarks that can be printed and utilized. It also provides virtual tours of a number of prominent tourist sites including Al-Masmak Palace Museum in Riyadh.