Prince Sultan bin Salman

:: Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission of Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), has announced the launch of a media platform in the Kingdom.

Launched in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Information, the platform aims to encourage innovators to maximize positive content, enrich films and programs on national heritage and tourism, and reflect the distinctive lifestyle in the Kingdom based on the originality and diversity of its different regions while sticking to its values.

The SCTH chief also announced the launch of a TV channel in full partnership with the ministry, Saudi Broadcasting Corp. and other partners to transmit the content under the name of “Live Saudi Arabia” on social media.

The new media platform, which will be launched on Sunday on an experimental basis, will benefit from the huge influx of citizens and students through “Live Saudi Arabia” programs and other tourist e-gates. It will focus on live transmission from different Kingdom sites and allow citizens to interact with their country in a new way, he said. The platform will cover all functions carried out by the SCTH or any other parties.

The SCTH chief expressed appreciation to those who have worked with the SCTH and supported its programs as well as all its partners, including government and private sector companies, which contributed to the promotion of the tourism sector.

“We are currently running a mega-system of projects within the SCTH’s initiatives in the National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020, which found the SCTH ready with its initiatives and projects,” he said.

He said they have invested in the staff and partners, who are considered an integral part of the SCTH, through international trips and training to avoid working separately and individually.

The SCTH chief said citizens want their country to be the first option in their tourist destinations.

Media offices planned

Minister of Culture and Information Awwad Al-Awwad said that up to 30 percent of journalists in the international media set out to harm the Kingdom, while the remaining 70 percent were looking for positive news.

He said the ministry cares for that majority and is keen to cooperate with them and provide them with the required content of news.

Referring to culture, Al-Awwad said the culture earlier focused on specific aspects, which were limited to poetry and prose.

“However, we should not ignore other important aspects of culture such as the film industry, theater, audio arts, popular arts, folklore, and non-material heritage,” he said.

The minister also announced the ministry’s plan to launch a “government liaison center” soon, together with the launching of media and cultural centers in London, Moscow, Berlin, and Paris.

He stressed that the Kingdom is a big country and a center of peace, values and cultures, which has an effective global role. Accordingly, its media, culture, heritage and tourism should cope with its distinguished level, he added.