Major operator Al Othaim Leisure and Tourism will open the kingdom’s first real-snow experience at the Ar Rabwa mall in the capital in the presence of HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud, the city’s governor.  The FEC’s content is angled more towards entertainment than sport, although it has a ski slope, toboggan run and snowboarding course.  Temperatures within the location will be kept below three degrees celsius all year around.

Chief executive Fahad Al Othaim said: “A touristic attraction of this magnitude coincides with the kingdom’s 2030 vision and renders it an attractive and lucrative industry that contributes to the kingdom’s economic diversification plans, in order to propel the national economy and create new jobs for Saudi nationals.”  He added: “Snow City is the first comprehensive snow attraction in the kingdom.  It has been constructed on a 5,000sq.m area with a cost of around SAR100m [€24m] and will have an hourly capacity of 350 people.  “Snow City will also host various entertainment activities, with 12 different attractions, including a panoramic suspension bridge, ice bumper cars, sledge and ski zone, rope courses, climbing wall, snow mobiles and many others.”  The company has two other Snow City developments in different stages of planning and construction.  (2016/08/12)