Tourism & Hospitality | Sunday 14 June, 2015 6:26 am |

Saudi Aramco will participate in the “Live Saudi Arabia” program by organizing trips to King Abdul Aziz World Cultural Center, after it opens next year.
At least 5,000 students from various regions of the Kingdom are expected to take the trips each year.
A partnership agreement in this regard has been signed between Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), and Health Minister and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saudi Aramco Khalid Al-Falih at the company’s headquarters in Dhahran.
Prince Sultan was received by Al-Falih and company President Amin bin Hassan Al-Nasser. The prince toured the company’s sites, including King Abdul Aziz World Cultural Center.
During his speech, Prince Sultan said that the agreement stems from the confidence and special partnership between SCTA and Aramco in the fields of tourism, antiquities and national heritage.
He said that the partnership has yielded successful results such as the cooperation in antiquities exploration in the Eastern Province, cooperation in preserving antiquities, exchange of expertise in field research, administrative development and tourism investments, as well as recovering national treasures that left the Kingdom in illegal ways.
The prince said that the Saudi Excellence in Tourism Award will be given to Aramco for its exceptional role in supporting the development of tourism, particularly by sponsoring tourism initiatives.
He highlighted the importance of Live Saudi Arabia, which gives young people the chance to tour important sites in the Kingdom. This gives them the opportunity to be introduced to the history and landmarks of the country and recognize its cultural and tourist potentials, he said. “This will encourage them to actually interact with these sites, have memories of them and not just live there or know about them from history books.”
Al-Falih said that Live Saudi Arabia has three strategic advantages — cultural renewal of the Kingdom and the Arabian Peninsula, cultural, religious and recreational tourism and job opportunities.
Travel and tourism contribute more than $7 trillion a year to the global economy and support about 270 million jobs. Tourism is one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the world.
Live Saudi Arabia is a national initiative which aims to restore the Kingdom in the hearts of Saudis by encouraging them to visit historic locations. The program relies on tourism trips as a major means to strengthen citizens’ relations with the country.