Saudi Arabia Tilts Its Gaze to Boosting Tourism Through the Tourists Visa Scheme
Saudi Arabia Tilts Its Gaze to Boosting Tourism Through the Tourists Visa Scheme :
Saudi Arabia Tilts Its Gaze to Boosting Tourism Through the Tourists Visa Scheme
In a bid to boost its tourism sector and foster international relations, Saudi Arabia has instituted a measure to issue new visas for visiting citizens from the US, UK, and countries in the European Union. This news comes after the report of the government’s new decree to issue tourism visas to ease travel processes for Saudi Arabian tourists.
Details of the New Tourists’ Visas
Saudi Arabia has recently launched the tourist visa scheme for US, UK, and Schengen citizens who come into the country through Saudia, Flynas, or Flyadeal airlines. Provided these citizens have an employment, business/workers, or residence permit, they can receive a one-year tourism visa automatically without applying beforehand. However, this tourist visa scheme comes with a catch: visitors must have used any of the three previously stated visas to access any region in Saudi Arabia at least once.
Countries implementing the e-visa program that took off in 2019 may also benefit from the tourist visa scheme. Residents from the US, UK, and Schengen areas may also apply for the visa upon arrival in Saudi Arabia. The tourist visa can be obtained by application online, and after meeting the requisite conditions, it takes an average of 5 – 30 minutes for visa issuance. If an application is made through the embassy instead, one can hope to wait a day or two to get the visa. Among other requirements, a round-trip ticket is essential for proof of intent to return upon the expiry of the tourist visa.
What are the Intended Benefits of the New Tourists Visa Scheme?
Saudi Arabia’s tourist visa scheme is strategic and highly beneficial to the country and visitors alike. Undoubtedly, the project is likely to change the face of tourism in the country. The simplicity of the visa scheme is also one to be applauded. It eliminates the traditional method of embassy-issued visas while using the internet to make visa processes significantly easier for intended tourists.
According to the Minister of Tourism, the program allows the country to revert to its tourism levels before the pandemic, making it one of the most accessible destinations in the world. Notably, Saudi Arabia slowed the pace of tourism up until now due to the pandemic. However, as the Minister remarked, the country emerged from the pandemic lethargy with a focus on accelerating domestic visitation and creating several tourism packages. Since 2020 growth rates in leisure travel and culture tourism have spiked with tourists and visitors worldwide.
Saudi Arabia’s goal is to attract visitors, provide opportunities, and bridge culture to realize its vision to welcome 100 million visitors by 2030 and increase tourism’s contribution to the country’s GDP by 10 percent.
Conclusion
Saudi Arabia is ready to be a hub of attraction to visitors and tourists alike. The country has pooled its resources to invest up to $200 billion in the tourism industry. One can only anticipate the plans that Saudi Arabia has in store for the sector. Of course, the tourist visa scheme is only one of those brilliant plans.
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Last Updated on 10 months by News Editor
