AL-BAHA: The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) in Al-Baha has started inspection plans for the summer vacation season, focusing on supervision of tourism facilities, and ensuring the best tourist services for residents and visitors to the region.The Kingdom’s Al-Baha region is known for its scenic beauty with wildlife areas, forests, valleys and mountains. It is a popular tourist destination in Saudi Arabia. Zahir bin Mohamed Al-Shehri, the commission’s director general in Al-Baha and secretary-general of Al-Baha Tourism Development Council, said that preparations will include field tours to inspect tourism facilities in the region, including hotels, furnished apartments, and travel and tour agencies. The inspections will monitor the availability and quality of services provided to tourists.The inspection drive will also include license checks, and responses to complaints and feedback from tourists and customers, he said.Recently, the Zee Ain village, Arabic for “city of springs,” was included on a tentative list within the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization after King Salman approved its nomination in 2015. Legend has it that the springs were dug inadvertently in search of a cane belonging to well-known resident.The tourism authority has since established a multimillion-dollar comprehensive restoration plan for the village to make it tourist friendly and shed light on its famous, locally made products.What makes the village of Zee Ain stand out is its strategic location atop a mountain offering impressive panoramic views of the region’s farms.The village is home to dwellings made of polished stone, some four stories high, and a famous mosque. The area, which is said to be more than 400 years old, was given its name from the permanent water source that flows into the area from nearby valleys.The SCTH development plan, which has been underway for several years, consists of two stages. The first is restoring several structures to create an open-air museum overlooking the waterfalls, as well as revamping an existing museum.The second is constructing a village garden and a visitors’ center, which will eventually include an exhibition of locally made products.The development plan also includes carrying out research studies aimed at shedding light on the city’s unique architecture and the raw material with which doors and windows are made.