Saudi Arabia: Riyadh Season visitors leap to 19m
Annual festival draws more visitors due to holidays, fine weather
Cairo: Riyadh Season, Saudi Arabia’s flagship entertainment and tourist festival, attracted record 19 million visitors from across the globe in around four months, according to organisers of the annual event.
“More than 19 million visitors from around the world experienced exceptional moments at Riyadh Season,” Head of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority (GEA) Turki Al Alsheikh said in an X post.
Holidays and fine weather in Riyadh contributed to the surge in the numbers of visitors to the festival with its diverse, colourful activities.
The “Dunes of Arabia”, a key zone of Riyadh Season, witnessed an increase in numbers of camping and winter enthusiasts, Saudi media reported.
The current fifth edition of the Riyadh Season kicked off on October 12, featuring 14 zones, 11 world championships and 10 exhibitions.
The festival has seen several zones areas, including “Souq Al-Oulain”, an area that combines authenticity and creativity, highlighting Saudi heritage, traditional handicrafts, and traditional cuisine.
Another popular zone is the “Groves” with its sophisticated atmosphere, classy restaurants, and live music performances.
The festival in its latest edition draws visitors with an interesting calendar of boxing, wrestling, and tennis matches as well as classy restaurants, unique entertainment experiences and the “Wonder Garden” zone.
A big attraction is the “Boulevard Runway” zone presenting decommissioned aircraft transformed into exciting entertainment venues.
The aircraft are converted into sites of games and upmarket restaurants.
The zone offers visitors an opportunity to explore three Boeing 777ERs and a real flight runway where the space has been transformed into a place for events with dining inside the aircraft or from the control tower.
Al Alsheikh had earlier said the fifth edition of the season stretches more than 7.2 million square metres with contracts concluded with 2,100 companies, 95% of them are local.
Saudi Arabia is seeking to diversify its oil-reliant economy and attract more visitors.
In 2016, the kingdom created GEA, a state agency that has since sponsored a slew of star-studded concerts, stage shows and festivals.
A major annual event organised by GEA is Riyadh Season, which made its debut in 2019 with the aim of turning the city into a global entertainment and tourist destination.
