Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz attended a workshop in Jeddah yesterday organized by the Supreme Commission for Tourism (SCT) in collaboration with the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce. Also attending were Governor of Makkah Province Prince Abdulmajeed bin Abdulaziz, head of Jeddah governorate Prince Mishaal bin Majed bin Abdulaziz, and SCT Secretary-General Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz. On display was the exhibition 'Tourism in the Kingdom' that is designed to launch this summer's tourist season. Addressing the gathering, Prince Nayef encouraged young people to spend their vacations inside the Kingdom, injecting more money into the Saudi economy on one hand, and getting acquainted with their country on the other. Urging more study on various aspects of the tourist industry, and greater investment in it by Saudi businessmen, he expressed the hope that the tourism sector would be able to attract young Saudi job-seekers, and announced a plan to set up training centers for those interested in working in tourism.

Meanwhile, Governor of Asir Province Prince Khalid Al-Faisal opened in Abha yesterday evening a three-day seminar entitled 'The Economic Impact of Tourism', organized by the Prince Sultan College for Tourism and Hotel Management. It was announced that a branch of the college is to open in the Eastern Province in 2002. In his lecture at the first session, SCT Secretary-General Prince Sultan bin Salman stressed the importance of developing the tourism sector in the light of challenges facing the Saudi economy such as finding more job opportunities for the Kingdom's growing population, developing the provinces in order to counter migration from rural areas to cities, and reducing the seepage of the national economy that results from Saudis traveling abroad.

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