Saleh Fareed

Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH — Al-Ahlam Marine Tourism Group has signed new sponsorship agreements with the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) to be the official sponsor of the third edition of “Ejazti Saudia" program.



The signing ceremony was held on Wednesday night at Al-Ahlam Marina in the presence of Prince Abdullah Bin Saud Bin Mohammed, CEO of Al-Ahlam Holding Group; Fahad Al-Ghamdi, director of Ejazti Saudia, and Mohammed Al-Amri, executive director of the SCTA in the Makkah region.



The annual competition organized by the SCTA is aimed at raising awareness on the Kingdom's tourism potential using social media outlets.



Commenting on the program, Prince Abdullah said: “We are proud to be associated with such a competition, which is considered one of the most effective methods of tourism promotion and development as well as a means of documenting the country’s rich culture and heritage.”



Prince Abdullah said the competition would kick off on Jan. 18 and run until Jan. 23, covering three cities this year.



Elaborating on the competition, program director Al-Ghamdi said the trips of the third edition would start with the mid-term school vacation. Jeddah is selected to hold youth events while Yanbu and Jazan are to receive families participating in the program.



"The program is being implemented to promote tourism activities and attractions in the Kingdom’s provinces. This version targets photography and documentation professionals, travel aficionados, together with people with a keen sense of media needs,” he said.



“The program aims fundamentally at creating a sense of collaboration among trip organizers, Saudi families and youth groups as well as enriching the national media with tourism promotion materials."



SCTA's Al-Amri said the contest encourages photographers, professionals and amateurs alike to highlight Saudi tourism sites, their heritage, antiquities, the Kingdom's diverse natural environment and urban development.



“The contest aims at encouraging Saudi families to spend their mid-term vacation inside the Kingdom. It will also provide an opportunity to the visitors to discover new tourism attractions and recognize the diverse tourism sites in the country,” he said.



Speaking about the rules of the contest, he said families heading to Jeddah, Yanbu and Jazan, the contest cities, from Jan. 18 shall prepare detailed reports of their visits in a diary form and post them on various social media platforms. The reports should include photographs and video clips and their interaction with events in the cities the visit. They shall also upload the reports on the contest's website (http://www.ejazti.com).  Saudi Gazette, Okaz and Al-Nadi are the media sponsors of the 3rd edition of “Ejazti Saudia”.