Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz, President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), has signed contracts for 22 tourism projects at a cost of SR27.7 million ($7.4 million).

Director of procurement at the SCTA, Ahmad Bin Abdullah Al Shehri, said: “These included two advisory contracts, one for the implementation of the draft study surveys of MAS, which aims to collect and provide data analysis and accurate statistics on new rates of movement and characteristics of tourist demand for local, outgoing and incoming tourists throughout the year, which adds significantly to assessing the economic impact of tourism in the Kingdom.

“The second is to ensure the implementation of advisory services for the design and development of identity management in order to design the identities of all the tourist areas in the Kingdom.

“Another contract is dedicated to the implementation and preparation of an exhibition of antiquities of Saudi Arabia at the National Museum in King Abdulaziz Historical Centre in Riyadh and it aims at increasing cultural awareness of antiquities, social traditions and historical values.

“A further deal is for the fencing of archaeological and historical sites in the Haidl and Tabuk provinces.

“There are also contracts to establish Al-Ahsa PTO Headquarters and for the production of a Saudi Arabian Tourism TV program.”

Agreements have also been signed for Tourism Investment Centres in Najran, Jazan, Tabouk and Al Jouf and a tourism, marketing and support centre.