The marketing of a commodity succeeds when it is unique and has features that other commodities lack. We should use this economic concept to market the cities of the Kingdom according to the unique features that they possess.

For example, the summer resorts in the southern regions of the Kingdom could be marketed during the hot and humid season, especially those cities that have important archaeological sites and perhaps coastal cities could be promoted in the winter and northern cities in the spring.

When I recently visited Souk Okaz during the Taif Season festival, I realized that we could succeed in the domestic tourism industry by tapping the huge potential of Saudi youth. Although I have visited Taif before, I saw it differently this time, as its summer resorts in Al-Shafa and Al-Hada were full of enthusiastic vacationers.

This was also the case with Souk Okaz, where visitors, including families and individuals, thronged the avenues of the market that featured cultural and recreational activities. I was delighted to see young Saudi men and women of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), rendering cheerful and friendly service and apologizing for any possible shortcomings, although there were none that I could see.

The SCTH officials, led by Noura Al-Akeel, director of Taif Season, Media Advisor Khalid Al-Suhail and his fellow colleagues Yasser Al-Nimr, Sultan Al-Shamekh and others deserve accolades and thanks for their wonderful service and relentless efforts to make the festival a great success.

SCTH, under the leadership of Ahmed Al-Khatib, can rejoice in the success of the Taif Season while they continue to unearth the unique features of other cities in the Kingdom, as we are in the era of national transformation to a much brighter and more beautiful future beyond 2030.