His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz President of SCTA, on the margin of his visit to Al Taif, gave his approval to begin the operational phase of the Visual Distortion Treatment project in July this year.
HRH President of SCTA, during his visit also met with the mayor of Taif, who is also the chairman of Al Taif Tourism Development Council, along with Eng. Mohammad bin Abdul Rahman Al Mokhrij, Taif Secretary-General, Tariq Mahmoud Khan, Executive Director of SCTA Branch in Taif municipality, and Dr. Rashid Al Ghamdi, director of Souk Okaz.
HRH, following the meeting pointed out that the meeting discussed appropriate measurements to restore the glory of the Taif as an important tourist destination, describing Taif as the crown of the national tourism. HRH urged for its preservation and stressed the need to overcome the optical distortion, wide across the municipality.
On the Visual Distortion Treatment project which will be implemented by SCTA in collaboration with Al Taif Secretariat and tourism facilities, HRH referred to a special fund worth one million Saudi Riyals, established for this purpose by SCTA and its partners. HRH also stated that, HRH Amir of Makkah, Prince Khalid Al Faisal bin Abdul Aziz has requested had requested a periodic report on the implementation stages, pointing out that it is expected that local communities in tourist areas to participate in the project in order to preserve their areas because environmental preservation worth nothing when the environmental distortion is much.
HRH President of SCTA, in this context, referred to the persistent support of the government under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, HRH Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, and HRH Second Deputy Prime Minister Naif bin Abdul Aziz (May God Protect Them) to the national heritage. "Government works hand in hand with investors in a particular and private sector in general to create finally an excellent and integrated tourism product. Tourism investment is a risk and the government limits impact of this risk; comprehensive development in this field cannot be reached without government's support, "said His Royal Highness.
HRH added "Al Taif is long familiar for tourism activity; it is a first class tourism city. Skeptical views on tourism feasibility in the Kingdom or claiming that tourism does not have enough acceptance by the Saudis reflects the ignorance and are "outbidding" acts only. The Kingdom has made good progress in this field, and today tourism has become an industry and realty, and it is no more a questionable issue." |