Riyadh festivities delight thousands

The ongoing Riyadh Shopping and Entertainment Festival 2015 has been attracting thousands of visitors every day with substantial increases in the number of visitors as the festival continues during Ramadan.

Organized by the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) for the 11th year in coordination with the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), Riyadh Tourism Development Board (RTDB) and the Riyadh municipality, the festival has been a huge success.
To make it more attractive, the organizers have included events such as gift hampers and competitions, distributing thousands of gift items on Wednesday and Thursday to make a special weekend appeal.

When Arab News asked shoppers and visitors for their reactions, their response was, “It is a super high-quality festival for the summer break and it is extremely safe and secure. It is fun for families and for children enjoying their school break.”
In addition to government support to promote domestic tourism, private stakeholders have also come forward wholeheartedly in making the summer fest a big draw of tourists and visitors.

Applauding their important role, Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar congratulated key partners for their valuable support.
The festival will continue until July 3 at all the important malls. It encourages partnership between the public and private sectors as it shortens the distance between tourism and economy, satisfying visitors and investors at the same time. It enables the authorities to promote domestic tourism and encourages Saudis to spend holidays in their own country rather than going outside the Kingdom.

Commenting on the number of visitors expected at the festival, RCCI Chairman Abdul Rahman Al-Zamil said: “We have rich entertainment and shopping activities that we hope will please them and we hope they will have beautiful memories of Riyadh in the summer.”
The festival saw more than 9 million visitors last year. More are expected this year.