Agritourism is thriving in rural areas to represent a new pattern of agricultural diversification and an alternative farming practice that can strengthen community cohesion, enrich education, provide job opportunities, diversify the economic base and achieve agricultural sustainability. Al Ahsa is an ideal place to develop agritourism given its rich agricultural heritage as characterized by being one of the largest agricultural oases in the world. However, developing agritourism in Al Ahsa faces many challenges. This study aimed to elucidate the potential benefits of agritourism, examine the needs of agritourism providers, agritourists, and involved associations and use the Multiple Regression Model to estimate the demand functions and identify the most important social and economic factors that affect the demand. Based on preliminary data collected in the field for a random sample of 300 individuals, the results indicated that the most important factors were income, rent of the farm, and the profession. The price and income elasticities were less than one. The SWOT analysis indicated that the number of strengths reached 43%, which means that there is still a lot to be done to overcome the obstacles and the difficulties of the current situation of agritourism in Al Ahsa. The available opportunities represented 54%, which reflects the existence of an encouraging external environment and positive future expectations for agricultural tourism in the oasis. In light of the results, the study emphasized the importance of exploiting Al Ahsa Oasis entry in UNESCO World Heritage List in addition to selecting it as 'Capital of Arab Tourism' for 2019 to develop agritourism in a sustainable manner taking into account the economic, social and environmental aspects and does not negatively affect the environment and green areas so that the oasis retains its unique nature.

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The sustainability of the mangrove ecosystem in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an urgent need to conserve these natural treasures and their benefits and services. Two species of mangroves grow in the Kingdom: Avicennia marina and Rhizophora mucronata. This study aimed to evaluate the mangrove ecosystem in the Kingdom through a set of descriptive frameworks, in addition to using quantitative methods to estimate willingness to pay (WTP) to maintain the mangrove ecosystem’s benefits. The results showed that WTP averaged about 150 riyals ($40) per person. The most significant variables affecting WTP were monthly income, educational level, information about mangroves, previous visits to mangrove areas, and membership in an environmental society. This is consistent with economic logic regarding the positive relationships between these variables and WTP as a dependent variable. The study also found that gender, age, marital status, family size, and the nature of work were nonsignificant determinants of WTP. The study recommended that attention be paid to the economic valuation of the Kingdom’s ecosystem services through further research and studies to bridge this knowledge gap, which contributes to the protection of these ecosystems and raising awareness of their benefits and services. KEYWORDS Avicennia marina, DPSIR framework, ecosystem services, Rhizophora mucronata, sustainability, WTP approach

This research investigated the protection coefficients and relative efficiency of winter vegetables by using the domestic and tradable inputs of some selected winter vegetables in Saudi Arabia to explore the economic incentives of local vegetables. The data was analyzed using gross margin and Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) approach. The outcomes of this research revealed that the eggplant constitutes a highest gross margin as compared to other local vegetables. Moreover, the private price of potato output is more than their parity price. The producers of tomato crops are nearly protected. However, during the study period, the producers of tomatoes, zucchini, and ladyfingers were subsidized and largely competitive on their exports. Furthermore, the study indicated that the government supported eggplant and cucumber vegetables. The research suggests for establishment of international trade collaboration to reduce fees and removal of policy distortions to rise the incentives for vegetable producers.