Riyadh, The Saudi Tourism Authority (STA), launched the summer programme for 2024, "Saudi Summer is Next Door." It will run for four months until the end of September across seven destinations and includes over 550 tourism products and more than 150 special offers and packages curated for families and children across different segments such as adventure lovers, those seeking luxury retreats, and culture and heritage enthusiasts. The Saudi Summer Programme 2024 launch event was attended by Zurab Pololikashvili, World Tourism Organization Secretary-General, over 250 key strategic partners from the public and private sectors, significant media, and key opinion leaders. The summer programme will take place in seven destinations: Aseer, Al Baha, Taif, the Red Sea (a new destination), Jeddah, Riyadh, and AlUla. This year, the programme will also see the return of the Jeddah Season and the launch of the Aseer Season, featuring numerous family activities and events. Ahmed Al Khateeb, the Minister of Tourism and Ch airman of the Board of Directors of the STA, highlighted global tourism trends, the growth seen by the kingdom in the tourism sector, and the record-breaking numbers of incoming tourists, resulting in Saudi Arabia topping the UN World Tourism list and the G20 nations list. The launch of the Saudi Summer Programme 2024 comes at a time when visiting Saudi Arabia has become easier, smoother, and safer through efforts like making the eVisa available to citizens of 66 countries, reducing the total price of the eVisa by 20%, and increasing the number of weekly flights from Gulf cities to Saudi summer destinations to 1,100 and the number of hotel rooms available to travelers, with an additional 25,000 rooms expected to be added this year. Source: Bahrain News Agency