No rooms for smoking tourists

Saudi Arabia’s General Commission for Tourism and Antiquities has imposed a ban on smoking at all enclosed tourist facilities, according to a story by Habib Toumi for Gulf News, quoting local news reports.

The ban includes hotels and furnished apartments.

The Commission said that the ban was based on an interior ministry circular about eliminating smoking in all enclosed public areas in the kingdom, including government buildings, cafés, restaurants and shopping malls.

Last month, municipal authorities in the Saudi Red Sea resort of Jeddah shut down 242 restaurants and cafés for 24 hours after they were found to be serving shisha. The establishments were fined and the shisha confiscated.