Arab News, Thursday, Nov 04, 2021 | Rabi Al-Awwal 28, 1443
Saudi tourism sector set to shine, says CEO of STA
Saudi Arabia: Visitors to Saudi
Arabia are expected to double, according to a recent statement made by the Saudi
Tourism Authority to AlArabiya on the sidelines of a travel trade event in
London.
Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO of the STA, said on Wednesday
that the Riyadh Season had increased the rate of visits to the Kingdom by 30
percent in 2019, with this number expected to double after the launch of new
giga-projects.
The prediction was made at the World Travel
Market, the biggest travel trade event since 2019, which opened yesterday in
London, with over 100 countries in attendance at the ExCeL Center in the east of
the capital.
Welcoming a new era of tourism after the
devastating effects and challenges posed by the pandemic, Hamidaddin pointed out
the 60 percent rate of vaccination in the Kingdom.
The Saudi health application “Tawakkalna” has
become the first linked with the International Air Transport Association.
Some 450,000 tourist visas were issued between the
launch of the program in 2019 and the advent of the pandemic, targeting 49
countries in the initial stage.
The authority facilitated access to tourist visas
electronically or through entry points to the Kingdom within specific regulatory
controls.
Performance indicators were set up to keep pace
with the ambitious target to raise the number of annual visits to 100 million by
2030, 55 million of which are international with the remaining 45 million coming
from domestic travel, including Umrah, visiting relatives and for business
purposes, Hamidaddin said.
This is expected to provide 1 million job
opportunities and an increase of 10 percent of the country’s GDP.
“Discover Saudi” was launched in 2019 as part of a
SR1 billion ($226 million) investment to drive tourism development in the
Kingdom, and is expected to complement the goal of welcoming over 100 million
visitors by 2030.
Tourism is one of the pillars of the Kingdom’s
Vision 2030 to contribute to diversifying the economy, attracting investments,
increasing sources of income, and providing job opportunities for citizens.
Marketing and promotional campaigns for tourist
destinations in the Kingdom have been launched, the last of which was the
“Summer of Saudi Arabia” program, which was launched by the “Spirit of Saudi
Arabia” platform under the slogan “Our Summer, Your Mood,” to promote 11 tourist
destinations until the end of September. More than 500 tourist experiences were
provided by 250 private sector partners.