During this summer, the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), in cooperation with tour organizing companies, is presenting a variety of tour packages to different provinces and cities in the Kingdom. The tour packages are aimed at attracting local tourists and to enabling them to enjoy attractive tourism opportunities at affordable prices with variety and comfort.

Through these offers, SCTA seeks largely to provide a range of services needed by tourists such as accommodation, transportation (traveling ticket), and food at an easy and affordable cost, as well as familiarize the Saudi tourists with the meaning of integrated tourism inside the Kingdom through planning and organization, thus limiting the high cost of tourism trips.

Mr. Abdulla Al Jehani, vice president of marketing and media at SCTA commented that the objective of this program is to create tourist offers addressing the high cost of tours in the Kingdom. He pointed out that the randomness and lack of planning for trips, leads to higher prices, while going by the planned and organized tourism trip offered by an organizing company, leads to the success of the tourism experience and the elimination of the negative aspects experienced by many.

Al Jehani added, “We are pleased that our partners from tour operators are doing their part [in the] designing of these programs and selling them." He said, “SCTA in this program is contributing through technical support, marketing, and promotional processes for the program," adding that the commission had started promoting such tourism programs at the exhibition and pavilions of STTIM, held in Riyadh recently, ATM in Dubai, and through integrated advertising campaign in various media channels.

The tourism packages proved to be a huge success. During the short period of the launch of the program, the Tourism Contact Center received 1,119 phone inquiries and sold more than 367 different tourism offers to Saudis and expatriates.