Saudi Arabia Seeks to Attract 100m Tourists by 2030
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Jeddah - Aisha Jaffari
Saudi Arabia is gearing up for a new phase with the launch of the tourist visa amid a quest to attract 100 million tourists to become one of the top five tourist attracting countries in the world in line with Saudi Vision 2030. A key plan is to improve systems, including providing electronic visas, to help foreign visitors come to the Kingdom. This Saudi move coincides with the rise of spending on inbound tourism to Saudi Arabia by 12 percent to SAR77.3 billion (USD20 billion) in the first eight months of 2019 compared to the same period last year. According to a report by (MAS) Tourism Information Research Center – Saudi Commission for Tourism & National Heritage – inbound tourism spending in August reached SAR33.7 billion, an increase of 23 percent compared to the same month of last year in concurrence with the Hajj season for this year (August). The total nights of inbound tourism to the Kingdom between Jan. and August reached 146.6 million i.e. a hike of 12 percent in comparison with 2018. However, the total nights outside the Kingdom dropped by 5 percent to 231.1 million. Preparations are underway to receive visitors of 'Riyadh Season' in a few weeks. Reports revealed of requests for tourist visas to attend the event on Sep. 27. The 90-day visa would be available for citizens from around 51 countries with fees of up to USD117 including medical insurance. It can be received from the visas platform of the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, self-service devices at arrival halls in Saudi airports, or the passport offices recently established at the airports.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1919731/saudi-arabia-seeks-attract-100m-tourists-2030
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