Saudi Arabia Names Head of New Tourism Authority

Published May 10th, 2000 - 03:00 GMT

Saudi Arabia appointed Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdul-Aziz to head a recently-formed state body to promote tourism in the kingdom, Saudi News Agency (SPA) reported Tuesday.

It said King Fahd issued a decree appointing Prince Sultan bin Salman as secretary-general of the higher council for tourism, a post it said would have ministerial status.

Saudi Arabia set up the council in April to develop its tourism sector, part of a plan to diversify the economy away from oil, Reuters said.

The Saudi cabinet earlier approved broad guidelines for issuing visas to tourists, a move seen as a first step towards opening up to foreign visitors, Reuters added.

Prince Sultan, born in 1956, is a son of Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz, the governor of Riyadh.

A former senior air force officer, he was the only Arab to go on a space mission on board the space shuttle Discovery in 1985 - (Agencies)