His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz, President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities on December 19th, 2009, received His Excellency Wing Kook Bonn Ambassador of Singapore to the Kingdom. The meeting took place at the headquarters of the Commission in Riyadh.

The two sides discussed a number of issues of mutual interest and cooperation between the two countries in the fields of tourism and antiquities and architectural heritage, as well as ways to develop this cooperation.

“The total number of tourists who visited the ancient city Al Okhdood in the Najran province during the last Hijri year reached more than 53,000 people," said Saleh Al-Moreh.
Mr. Saleh Bin Mohammed Al More, Executive Director of Najran PTO, said that the survey included official delegations and tourist groups, students of universities and schools as well as families and individuals who came very close to the Commission's efforts to develop the historic city and the Museum of Antiquities and Heritage, with continued follow-up and attention of His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz, President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, who gives special attention to the historical, heritage and civilization sites in Najran.

On Tuesday, December 21st, 2009, SCTA will organize the third open bazaar of Saudi women artisans in collaboration with Abdul Mohsen Al Hokair Tourism and Development Group in Riyadh.

The Women's Bazaar will be held in Jumbo Entertainment City in the Al Hayat Mall in Riyadh.  It will continue for four days and will be open to public from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm every day. The event is an attempt to activate the cooperation agreement signed between the Commission and Al Hokair Group.

Dr. Abdulla Al Washeel, Director General of the National Project for Tourism Human Resource Development (Takamul), praised the success of the first and second bazaar of craftswomen, organized in Hayat Mall in the past two months. He stated that, “Takamul” has nominated a number of women artisans to display and market their products within the facilities Al Hokair. The artisans have already completed training courses provided by the SCTA over the past three years on the traditional industries and handicrafts.

On the other hand, Dr. Al Washeel, has praised Al Hokair Group, describing it as one of the most important strategic partners for “Takamul” in the field of tourism human resource development, particularly in the area of training and employment.

It is worth mentioning that the signed agreement between SCTA and the group includes conduction of such monthly bazaars in one of the facilities Al Hokair.

Al Hokair also adopts the establishment of small business incubators, it works for training and skills upgrading for the members of the Saudi society in the field of entertainment, as well as in establishing centers for specialized training for tourism professionals.

Media Tourist Convoy, which was inaugurated recently by SCTA has concluded a visit to Madina. The convoy during its visit to Madina was composed of a number of national columnists, media groups' representatives, and amateur and hobby photographers. The visit of the tourism convoy to Medina continued for several days.

Mr. Muhammad Rashid, Director of the convoy said, "SCTA chose Al Madina for a number of reasons.  First, it is a province rich in tourism, civilization and antiquity potentials, as well as it occupies a distinguished position among the provinces, which are sought after by domestic tourists throughout the year.  In addition, SCTA selected Al Madina in order to activate the role of partners in the private sector, and most important of them being Dar Eman InterContinental, the host sponsor of the convoy, when the coordination efforts were begun by the province’s PTO.”

Al Rasheed, added that, the visit schedule consists of Madian Saleh archeological area, Antiquities Museum, the Old Town in Al Ula municipality as well as several historical, heritage and archeological sites throughout the province.

Participants in the convoy have praised the convoy’s idea and its program, which is described by the writer Khalid Al Sulaim, as "derived from a rich ancient history" and added, "We have an obligation to present it to the world through the activation of the partnership between the various tourism relevant authorities and sectors.”  Economic writer Jamal Bnon, suggested that the role of spearheading the investment should be taken up by investment relevant authorities, in the forefront of them is the Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority (SAGIA) for the provision of investment projects to support tourism in the Kingdom, taking advantage of its rich and long history . Writer Dr. Khalid Batrfi, urged not to delay the investment in this important economic stream through exceed the physical aspects by cultural, social, historical and scientific aspects.