Location of Saudi hit TV comedy emerges as tourist attraction

Cairo: A house in a sleepy Saudi village has become a tourist attraction to Saudi and Gulf nationals after a popular TV comedy was filmed there.

The house located in Asir in south-western Saudi Arabia was the location of “Sekat Safar” (A Travel Way), a TV serial that was aired in 2022 and generated wide popularity in the Gulf countries.

Many tourists from around Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations stop at the house to take photos, according to Saudi newspaper Al Watan.

Decorated with distinctly southern motifs, the house welcomes hundreds of visitors from different ages and nationalities every day, the report said.

Mohammed Al Saleh, an Emirati visitor, said he was keen to come to the house after he had watched the TV serial.

“It (the house’s) architecture and beautiful decorations have attracted me,” he added, referring to fine weather and captivating scenery in the area.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has sought to boost its entertainment industry, staging a string of concerts, cinema, theatrical shows and competitions that have drawn large audiences from inside and outside the kingdom.

In May 2016, the kingdom created the General Entertainment Authority GEA, a state agency that has since sponsored a slew of stellar concerts, stage shows and festivals.

In April 2018, Saudi Arabia reopened cinemas for the first time in nearly four decades. As many as 120 million people have attended entertainment events staged in Saudi Arabia since 2019, said GEA head Turki Al Alsheikh earlier this year, as the kingdom is seeking to diversify its oil-reliant economy.