Saudi Arabia has begun 2024 with their plans to boost the country’s tourism industry well underway.
The Kingdom welcomed more than 100 million tourists in 2023.
This is an increase of 156% compared to 2019, the year before the Covid pandemic struck.
Businesses and Industries around the world were heavily impacted by Covid 19 and Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector was not spared.
There are a number of factors contributing to the Kingdom’s tourism boom.
One of these is the introduction of a new visa.
The Saudi Arabia Ministry of Investment and the Foreign affairs department introduced a new “Visiting Investor” visa in July of 2023.
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The visa application process can now be done online, making the process more accessible to a larger group of people.
Riyadh Air has taken to the skies and the country sees the airline as a main contributor to the growth of its tourism, trade and transportation sectors.
The airline hopes to help achieve Saudi Arabia’s goal of turning Riyadh into a gateway to the world.
The country has also started to relax some of the laws and regulations pertaining to women in recent years.
Women are now allowed to watch sports matches in stadiums and Saudi Arabia even has a National Women’s Football team now, that is competing in the West Asian Football Federation Championship.
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The purpose behind these efforts is to grow the country’s tourism sector and to ensure it becomes the second-largest revenue source.
What is in store for the future of the Kingdom?
A few ideas are brewing for Saudi Arabia, including plans to develop a luxury train service that will start its journey in the capital, Riyadh and travel through two UNESCO world heritage archaeological sites.
This is guaranteed to attract thousands of tourists.
Another proposal is The Pangeos or the “floating city”, which would give tourists the experience of a lifetime as it would provide everything found on land, just with better views.
