Are you planning a cruise to an exceptional destination? If so, you should seriously consider Saudi Arabia. Indeed, in order to diversify the country's economy in the medium and long term, the Saudi authorities are betting heavily on the tourism sector. What's more, they have launched an electronic visa service to make it easier for foreign cruisers to enter the kingdom. Here's all you need to know on the subject!
Saudi Arabia: the kingdom opens up further to tourism
Once inaccessible due to the covid-19 pandemic, Saudi Arabia reopened its borders to tourism on September 29, 2021. Aware of the non-negligible impact of this sector on the economy of the magnificent kingdom, the government has decided to simplify access for people wishing to visit the country for leisure purposes.
In the first half of 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched an e-visa program. With this, travelers entering Saudi Arabia from cruise ships can now be issued with an electronic visa.
To obtain this entry authorization, cruisers simply go to the Ministry's digital platform to apply. They must, however, provide proof of purchase of their cruise ticket. This easy access is part of a strategy to boost the country's economic growth through tourism. To this end, the Saudi government plans to invest 177 billion euros (equivalent to 200 billion dollars) in the sector.
In addition, the kingdom plans to welcome 100 million visitors by the year 2030. The aim is to increase the tourism sector's contribution to the country's GDP by at least 10 %.
Maritime activities as a lever for tourism development in Saudi Arabia
According to Major Hassan al-Asmari, Director of the Red Sea Operations Center (COMR) in Jeddah, these projects are part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmane's plan. The latter is the second most important figure in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after his father, the current King Salmane ben Abdelaziz.
To make this 2030 vision a reality for the country, several projects have been launched. A few weeks ago, Prince Mugrin University signed an agreement with Cruise Saudi, a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund. The purpose of this agreement is, of course, to train a number of executives and give young Saudi students access to various professional specialization programs in the tourism sector.
Ultimately, the aim is to acquire genuine local know-how in the marine expedition, hotel and tourism industries. This will help create jobs as additional tourism infrastructure is built across the kingdom by the year 2035.
As part of this tourism development strategy, the country's national airline, Saudia, has signed an agreement with two cruise companies. These are the previously named Cruise Saudi and the international brand, MSC Cruises.
Under the terms of the agreement, 20,000 seats on Saudia flights will be reserved for tourists from North America and Europe bound for Jeddah. In addition, agents at the COMR are constantly working to issue entry licenses for tourist vessels in Saudi waters.
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