GCC residents make up 24% of Sharjah tourists in 2011

Dubai Some 381,625 tourists from the GCC countries visited Sharjah last year forming 24 per cent of the total number of tourists to the emirate, the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) said Wednesday in a statement.

It added that Saudi Arabia, with over 99,000 visitors, formed the bulk of the visitors from the GCC region.

"This only underscores the importance of the Gulf tourism market and the need to maintain our presence and performance in the region. We will continue our efforts to tap this vast market by constantly diversifying and improving tourism services and attractions in the emirate," SCTDA Chairman, Mohamed Ali Al Noman, said in a statement.

His remarks come as Sharjah continues to lure Saudi and international visitors at the fourth edition of the Riyadh Travel Fair that opened in the Saudi capital on Tuesday.

Al Noman further said that Sharjah received "more than 65,000 Saudi tourists" in the first quarter of this year alone. "Saudi tourists are Sharjah's second largest market after Europeans," he pointed out.