Tourism & Hospitality | Saturday 8 August, 2015 4:30 am |

The directorate of Civil Defense in Asir region has issued a warning of the risks associated with rain and weather fluctuation in many provinces of the region and urged residents and visitors to keep off valleys and water bodies.
"The General Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) has forecast weather fluctuation and more rainfall and flooding," Colonel Mohammed bin Abdul Rahim Al-Asimi, the official spokesman of the Civil Defense in Asir region, said on Friday.
He urged families to impose control over the children and refrain from adventures during the rain because the same is full of risks due to slippery mountains and floods.
In addition to the local population, Asir remains an attractive tourist destination for domestic tourists. Since the launch of the Asir Initiative, “Asir … a major tourism destination all year round,” the region has managed to implement three plans to make Asir the best tourism destination by 2020.
Abha was recently awarded the Arab Tourism Capital by the Arab Tourism Organization (ATO), a body belonging to the Arab League. 
The initiative involves the establishment and construction of several tourism projects, some of which have been completed while others are still under construction. 
The newly built modern road networks greatly helped in linking the region with all regions of the country, in addition to flights to the main cities of the Kingdom and Gulf countries through Abha International Airport, which is currently being developed and expanded within the initiative to receive an increasing number of international flights and visitors. 
The initiatives mentioned above involved the implementation of many projects, including the development of Al-Sudah Park and completions of the service road in King Abdul Aziz National Park, preparing about 150 umbrellas to accommodate visitors and lighting the main road reaching the Telefèric Carriages (or cable cars).