Saudi Arabia.. a non-stop movement of activities and events
As soon as an activity ends in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, another begins. Thus, the Kingdom witnesses a non-stop movement of activities, events, exhibitions, and conferences that have been escalating in a manner that has been attracting attention in recent times, which comes within the objectives of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 to encourage and strengthen the conferences and exhibitions industry.
There is no evidence of the acceleration of the movement from the phrase “continuously updated” that appears in the bulletin issued by the General Authority for Exhibitions and Conferences for licensed events, at a time when the Authority clarified at the beginning of the third quarter of last year that it had issued licenses to hold more than four thousand exhibitions and conferences for various sectors in all regions Kingdom during the first half of this year, noting that the increase amounted to 367 percent compared to the same period of the year before last, indicating that the largest share of it was in the health care, economy, trade and education sectors.
12 million visitors to the Riyadh season
On a parallel line, the activities and seasons of the General Entertainment Authority are witnessing no less active movement, as its statistics indicated that the number of visitors to the Riyadh season alone reached about 12 million, including 1.6 million from inside Saudi Arabia, 8.3 million from the city of Riyadh, and more than a million tourists from 125 countries from Russia, Canada, France, Britain and America.
It seems clear that the ambitions of the General Entertainment Authority are constantly evolving under the slogan of the Riyadh season, “Imagine More”, which has become a verbal icon frequented by many, as the Kingdom has witnessed 3,800 entertainment events since the launch of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, with the attendance of more than 80 million people from all over the world.
The “Riyadh season” is one of a series of seasons implemented by the Entertainment Authority throughout the year, including the Jeddah season, the Taif season, the Diriyah season, the Al-Ula season known as “Winter at Tantora”, the Hail season, the seasons of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, and other seasons, which include various activities such as festivals and parties. Lyrical, live performances, plays and various recreational activities.
A platform for the most prominent international events
Since the launch of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, it has set its sights on making the Kingdom a center for cultural and entertainment events and a platform for the most prominent international conferences, exhibitions and events.
Since then, the General Authority for Entertainment was established in 2016, followed by the establishment of the Ministry of Culture and the General Authority for Exhibitions and Conferences in 2018, while the Ministry of Culture created 11 bodies for the development of cultural sectors, the Authority for Architecture, Design, Music, Cooking, Theater, Performing Arts, Libraries, Museums, Visual Arts, Films, Fashion, Heritage, Literature, Publishing and Translation, Each of them had its own different activities and events, and the ministry and its affiliated bodies organize a number of cultural events of a qualitative and pioneering nature, which increases the volume of events taking place in the Kingdom.
Promote domestic tourism
It became clear that this continuous movement contributed to enhancing domestic tourism in the Kingdom and attracting tourists from outside it, as the CEO of the Saudi Tourism Authority, Fahd Hamid Al-Din, indicated that domestic travel recorded a record high in 2021, explaining that the Kingdom surpassed the world and the region in the general recovery rate for total travel. By 72%, compared to pre-pandemic levels.
