ZCZC
BCN-15
SAUDI-ECONOMY-TOURISM
Saudi Arabia to launch tourist visas in early 2018
RIYADH, Dec 19, 2017 (BSS/AFP) – Saudi Arabia will begin issuing tourist
visas in the first quarter of 2018, its top tourism official said, a first
for the kingdom as it undergoes major economic and social reforms.
Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz told AFP that “all government
approvals” are in place for the launch of electronic visas next year to “all
nationals whose countries allow their citizens to visit” Saudi Arabia.
“We are now just preparing the regulations — who is eligible for the visas
and how to obtain them,” added the head of the Saudi Commission for Tourism
and National Heritage, who is a son of King Salman.
The move to open up its tourism sector is a major shift for Saudi Arabia as
powerful Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman seeks to radically overhaul the
kingdom’s oil-dependent economy and shed its ultra-conservative image.
Apart from the millions of Muslims who travel to Saudi Arabia annually for
the Hajj pilgrimage, most visitors face an arduous process and steep fees to
enter the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia currently grants tourist visas for a limited number of
countries, but even those applications involve a range of restrictions,
including requirements to travel through an accredited company and stay at
designated hotels.
Prince Sultan said the cost of the new tourist visa had not yet been
settled, but stressed that it would be “as low as possible, because we
believe the cumulative economic impact is greater than the cash from the
visa”.
Saudi Arabia, though richly endowed with natural beauty, is notorious
worldwide for its longstanding bans on the mixing of the sexes, alcohol
consumption and women driving — making it an undesirable destination for
many.
In recent months, the kingdom has broken with some of its most rigid rules
— lifting a cinema ban, allowing genders to mix at a national celebration
and announcing that women will be allowed to drive next June.
Prince Mohammed in August announced a massive tourism project to turn 50
islands and a string of sites on the Red Sea into luxury resorts.
BSS/AFP/SR/1700 HRS