One of the most closed countries for ordinary tourists in the world – Saudi Arabia – does not intend to abandon plans for intensive tourism development and expects 50 million tourists in 2022. The goal of the authorities of the once closed country is to “revive efforts to promote tourism”, put at a dead end due to the pandemic. This was announced on Bloomberg TV by Tourism Minister Ahmed al-Khatib.
“We have already begun the path of recovery, and it will last until 2023-2024,” he said. The Minister also announced the opening of a new center focused on sustainable tourism.
The agency recalls that the coronavirus pandemic stopped travel around the world only a few months after Saudi officials first announced plans to attract foreign tourists to diversify the economy and create jobs for the growing population. At the moment, it has been decided to continue implementing these plans. Mr Al-Khatib predicts that the tourism sector will account for more than 4% of economic output this year, up from 3.5% in 2019.
First of all, Saudi Arabia is trying to cope with the image of one of the most difficult countries in the world to visit. Back in September 2019, the country opened applications for online tourist visas for citizens of 49 countries and relaxed the strict dress code for foreign women.
At the current meeting, the Minister of Tourism added that the country’s authorities are considering future tourism reforms without going into details. But, by the way, he denied rumors that foreigners will be allowed to drink alcohol in some designated areas.