40% Came From KSA And 53% From GCC
More than 132,000 tourists visited Abha Summer Training Festival 2010 which has been organized by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) and Forsan Al Hayat at the Abha International Exhibitions Centre and Abha Palace Hotel in Aseer, KSA.
Nearly 40 percent of visitors were from KSA, which presented about 52,800 people and around 70,000 visitors have come from GCC countries which is around 53 percent of the total number of visitors.
HE Engineer Abdul Karim Bin Salem Al Hunainy, Undersecretary of Aseer, said that the fact that the festival has attracted Gulf tourists and not just KSA ones, reflects Aseer’s success in becoming a destination for family tourism in the Gulf.”
He added: “The 11-day festival has entertained visitors with varied, multicultural and entertainment and education programs tailored to the needs of the social classes in the Gulf. Programmes were being designed by tourism, training and entertainment experts from the region and the globe.”
Yemen, Egypt and UAE have direct flights to Abha International Airport, which comes in rank four after Jeddah, Riyadh and Dahran Airports. This shows the importance of this city on the tourism map of the Middle East region. The Airport was busier during the festival and the hotel occupancy rates were high throughout the 11 days.
Engineer Al Hunainy added: “The festival used a well rounded outreach campaign including electronic channels to ensure its success in attracting a wide diversity of tourists.”
Dr. Ali Sharab, Founder of Forsan Al Hayat, co-organizer of the festival, added: “The debut edition of this festival was a huge success. It also set a new phase in the training festivals not only in the UAE but also in the Gulf. Edutainment is much needed at this stage and we look forward to spread this concept in the festivals to come.”
Abha is a place which has residential areas under the name of Gulf countries like the Kuwaiti residence area that is populated by a large number of Kuwaitis. It has weather very similar to the weather of the Levant region countries. It is also a tourism destination with many hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, clubs and parks, giving the place a green look.
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