RALF is in town!

Hey friends,

RALF is in town today. I had been meaning to see RALF for so long. For one whole week, I have been readng about RALF coming to Jeddah. Well, friends, today RALF made his debut. Who is RALF I hear you ask? RALF is Recreation and Leisure Fair! LOL! Did you think RALF was some European guy? Well, I thought that too when I saw the advertisement for the time.

This fair is being held in Jeddah for the first time, and it is very encouraging to see something like this happening here. Saudi has recently announced huge steps it has taken to encourage tourism. They are taking a leaf out of Dubai's books, but whether it will be something like Dubai or not, I don't know. I am just glad that Saudi has taken some strong, bold initiative to develop Saudi as a potential tourism city.

What's there? Well, how about this? (I can only speak for Jeddah)

1. Red Sea-- the second best place in the world to go snorkelling, diving and other water sports.
2. World class shopping malls-- I believe Riyadh is better than Jeddah though
3. Amazing restuarants of all different cuisines
4. People are hospitable, warm and welcoming
5. Weather may be hot, but there are air conditioners everywhere
6. Corniche is an awesome place, with all the theme parks and restaurants

With the right kind of development, Jeddah can become a hot place for tourists. As it is, rules are relaxed here moreso than in Riyadh, for example, women can walk here without head covering than they can in Riyadh. Here is what I envision Jeddah could become.

1. Allow for tour operators to set up boating and fishing trips into the Red Sea
2. Set up desert safari tours
3. Allow for professional city tours, especially into Old Jeddah
4. Allow for opportunites for Saudi families to have foreigners visit them and have meaningful cultural exhange
5. Create more avenues for teenagers here like cinemas, social centers and so on

I don't know what the Supreme Council for Tourism have in mind, but I hope it is something amazing. The RALF is one step in the right direction. I was begging my sister to come with me, and she was not interested. I managed to convince her, and so soon I shall be going there. There are going to outdoor/ indoor sports there, swimming, quad stunt, scuba diving and many other things there.

Mansur