Saudi to introduce new visa scheme for GCC residents
Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb has revealed that Saudi Arabia will introduce a new visa scheme for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) residents soon.
Al-Khateeb stressed that the tourist visas launched by the Kingdom in 2019 still exist and there are no specific restrictions for those coming for tourism.
64 million domestic trips were made in the Kingdom during 2021, while the number of visitors from abroad reached 5 million last year. The tourism sector in the Kingdom shrank by 40 percent during the pandemic. Al-Khateeb confirmed that the Al-Bujairi area in the Diriyah project is expected to open this year.
Al-Khateeb said, “We aim to reach the sector’s contribution to the Kingdom’s GDP to about 10 percent by 2030.” According to Al-Khateeb, the tourism sector’s contribution to the Kingdom’s GDP was 3 percent when the tourism strategy was launched in September 2019.
