Mukalla prepares for Country’s Third Tourist Festival [Archives:2006/963/Local News]
By: Sa'eed Al-Batati
HADRAMOUT, July 12 ) Activities of the country's third Tourist Festival in the city of Mukalla are due to kick off on Friday.
“The idea of staging the festival is very old and aims to entertain Yemeni expatriates who come from other countries for holidays during the summer in the tourist city of Mukalla,” Anwar Abdullah Abdulaziz, manager of the festival told the Yemen Times.
He said that the idea of holding the festival was fostered by efforts and lavish support from Abdulqader Ali Helal, Governor of Hadramout.
“The festival is still in its preliminary steps, compared to steps carried out by other major festivals, such as the Salalah and Garash festivals in Jordan and Oman. We are at the stage of developing confidence to gain support from the government and social foundations,” Abdulaziz added.
Asked about the influence of the festival on tourism in Hadramout in particular, and the rest of the country in general, Abdulaziz, former manager of the tourism office in Hadramout replied: “Foreign tourism is not good due to the worldwide situations these days. So, we preferred to concentrate on Arab tourism and people who have a high income, such as Arab tourists, who spend much money and stay for a long period of time in any country with a similar culture to that of their own societies.”
With regard to any surprises made by the festival this year, Abdulaziz explained: “The event is a heritage, tourism and cultural festival. However 50 percent of it focuses on the maritime heritage of the area, including traditions and songs.”
He continued to explain that the festival offers heritage and artistic sections, which involve performances by bands from different areas in Hadramout, in addition to songs by singers from the rest of the governorate and Gulf States.
The festival was held for the first time in 2004, to be then staged on July 14th every year for visitors to enjoy the abundance of seawater, a phenomenon providing cures for skin diseases.
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