Families give enthusiastic welcome to Snow City

The Snow City in Riyadh has received an enthusiastic all-round support, especially from families and commentators, as it promises to be a new attraction.
With the capital’s temperatures fluctuating around 45 Celsius, it is difficult to imagine people wearing ski jackets, but they will be compelled to do so in the Snow City.
Saudi Arabia is now pushing to provide more entertainment options for its residents, many of whom turn to Bahrain or Dubai for leisure activities.
In April, authorities launched an ambitious economic diversification plan to wean Saudi Arabia off oil as the main revenue earner, with development of tourism and entertainment projects among other wide-ranging goals.
The US-based Six Flags Entertainment Corporation announced in June that it is holding talks with Saudi Arabia to build theme parks in the country.
On Snow City’s Facebook page, many commentators have welcomed the new attraction.
Women are now donning thermal coats and cosy boots as they sit on sledges to scoot down the slopes of Snow City.
Stretching over 5,000 sq m, the entertainment project does not have proper ski pistes as such, but its modest indoor slopes still manage to provide frosty fun in a country that is mostly desert and searing heat.
“I’ve never touched snow,” says Ali Al-Ajmi, 40, who has never traveled out of the Arabian Peninsula, in remarks published in an AFP report.
Dozens of people throng the front counter to gain access to the play area, which opened in mid-July after four years of construction work costing some SR100 million.
Women currently represent the bulk of visitors.
According to AFP, one employee at Snow City said the center’s management initially faced the problem of not having enough boots for women as they had not expected females to represent more than 10 percent of visitors.
In fact, women have so far exceeded 75 percent of the numbers flocking to frolic in Alpine temperatures.
“There is privacy and we’re enjoying our time here,” says one woman who identifies herself as Umm Ahmed, 37. “I like the place. It provides entertainment.”
The temperature inside is a cool -3 degrees Celsius (26.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
“It’s freezing,” says 14-year-old Abdulrahman Hamad after spending some 90 minutes playing in the snow.
A younger boy appears to feel the pinch of the freezing air even more, and suggests a novel way of countering it.
“It looks cloudy and feels very cold. Why don’t they also put a sun in here?” asks four-year-old Salman.
The facility is not the first of its kind in the arid Gulf region. 
Dubai boasts an indoor ski resort that opened in 2005, featuring ski slopes complete with towbars and a chairlift.