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Saudi Arabia is a land of abundant natural and historical spectacles. It has been a travel destination for Muslim pilgrims for centuries from all over the world. In Saudi Arabia, tourism was associated only with religious travelling until a few years ago. However, the trend has changed in recent years, and now leisure tourism has also become an important area of development for the Saudi government (About Saudi Arabia, 2015).
With the formation of the Supreme Commission for Tourism in April 2000, now known as the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquity (SCTA), greater emphasis is being laid on the development of tourism, preservation of the historical sites, and conservation of the traditional crafts in the country. Saudi Arabia has remained the centre of most religious pilgrimages for centuries. But now it has started focusing on the leisure tourism sector too. Domestic tourism has also been growing in the region in recent years (Vincent, 2008)
Saudi Arabia has multiple products to offer to tourists. The untouched serenity of the Red Sea Coast offers an ideal array of holiday destinations, including different cultural and natural attractions. In the North, it has the Nabataean city of Madain Saleh and in the south, the tranquil and unspoilt Farasan Islands. It has several important cultural heritage sites; however, only one of them is listed on the World Heritage list of UNESCO.
There is a lack of adequate infrastructure for leisure tourism in Saudi Arabia, despite its significance as a great tourist destination.
“The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) is well aware of the region’s potential for development, and in 2008 the government body signed a SR 2.08m ($555,360) contract with an international consultancy firm to explore possible options”
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