The 9th edition of Saudi Travel and Tourism Investment Market (STTIM) kicked off in the capital Riyadh on Sunday in the presence of a large number of officials, businessmen, investors, experts, dignitaries and journalists. 
The five-day event, which ends on April 1, has two major parts, exhibition and conference, as well as the distribution of the SCTNH awards for excellence. 
The exhibition has attracted around 300 local companies and 13 tourism development boards from the Kingdom’s 13 regions. They are displaying a wide range of their tourism products and services, and investment opportunities to almost 25,000 expected visitors. 
Around 80 local and international tourism experts will take part in more than 30 conference sessions and 40 training workshops for visitors on travel and tourism related topics. 
The topics include investment in hotels, the economics of national heritage, organizing tourism travels and programs, investment in tourism infrastructure, and e-marketing of tourism events and destinations. 
During the event, the SCTNH excellence awards 2016 were distributed to winning tourism establishments from among hotels, restaurants, shopping centers and malls, tourism destinations and sites, entertainment cities, and distinguished Saudis in tourism services.