ABHA — Prince Turki Bin Talal, emir of Asir, said Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman has directed that the southern Asir region should be a global tourist destination throughout the year. “This points to the launch of a regional tourism strategy, the first of its kind at the level of the Kingdom. Combined efforts have been made to accomplish the strategy within a period of only eight months,” he said in an interview with Okaz newspaper. In his first press interview, two years after assumption of office as emir of the Asir region, Prince Turki emphasized that he would not tolerate either any offense to the region and its people from any media or prejudice the region’s historical legacy. Referring to women empowerment in the region, he said that the emirate formed a team of 20 women, including six women from outside the region to provide consultations to the emirate. “God willing, woman of Asir will be chosen as a member of the regional council,” he said. Prince Turki pointed out that the electricity projects that are being implemented in the region are aimed to increase reliability in the power grid. “I confirm that we will not accept entering into projects that fail, or making promises that are not fulfilled,” Prince Turki said. The emir noted that the Public Investment Fund (PIF) is studying a number of qualitative projects for Asir, and these included Al-Souda Project Company and the recently established Wadi Project Company, as well as other projects that are under various phases of study. Asir will benefit from some global experiences in the field of tourism, Prince Turki said while pointing out that the people of the region are interacting with the initiatives of rehabilitating and developing the heritage villages. “The working team, which is implementing the strategic plan, found that originality and nature are two main determinants for it, as there are hundreds of undeveloped heritage villages in the region, and many of them can be turned into centers of tourist attraction,” he added.