A special tourism police department could be set up in Saudi Arabia to protect national heritage sites, Saudi Gazette reported.
The concept was discussed at a forum organised by the Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, held in conjunction with the Saudi Authority for National Heritage, Taif Municipality, the Arab Organization for Tourism and the Taif Chamber for Commerce and Industry.
The University’s Professor Mohammad Al Thaqafi told the paper: “In the forum, experts spoke about the importance of security in the preservation of national heritage and the public awareness regarding the topic. Experts also reviewed the history of security in tourism in the Arab World.”
He added: “Attendees of the forum and speakers agreed on the need to cooperate in order to establish an authority of high security to protect national heritage from getting destroyed in catastrophes, wars and natural disasters.”
Civil Defense researcher Ali Al Shihry told the paper that preserving national heritage is the responsibility of the government and the local citizens.
“I presented a paper on a case study of the people of Almaa Village. It is a historical village in Asir Province. In my model, the people of the village built a museum, formed a committee for the development and preservation of the historical landmarks and established a security company with the support of the public directorates there,” said Al Shihry.
Follow us on
