“Now, our focus is on air carriers. We want to develop routes from India and grow these routes. We want to promote the destinations with our trade partners from India.”
— Fahd Hamidaddin, Saudi Tourism Board CEO
Saudi Arabia wants more tourists to come to the country. It has launched an ambitious programme to boost inbound tourism and is dependent on India as key market, according to Saudi Tourism Board CEO Fahd Hamidaddin.
Hamidaddin, who has been the chief of investment, strategy and tourism marketing for the Saudi Ministry of Tourism, was quoted by PTI saying, “We went on a road trip to India, met a lot of travel agents there and have some promising partnerships. Now, our focus is on air carriers. We want to develop routes from India and grow these routes. We want to promote the destinations with our trade partners from India.”
He also pointed out that he was expecting quite a few bilateral agreements to be signed this year “because we feel India is definitely a key market for Saudi. The government is also addressing the issue of accessibility with visas and air connectivity for leisure, business and religious travel”, said Hamidaddin.
He also mentioned the efforts to make Umrah more accessible and less expensive for travellers from the Muslim world. “We found out that some brokers are marking up the cost of getting to Saudi for Umrah (pilgrimage made by Muslims to Mecca), and that should not happen,” he said and went on to point out that “historically, Saudi Arabia has dedicated a certain number for Umrah to dedicated travel agents”. “Now, we are going to open up for all the travel industry, so that any travel agent can offer Umrah packages,” he said.
He mentioned that Indian travellers were well aware of travel in the Middle East. “There are people who come to Saudi historically, the Muslims. We are trying to make it a lot easier as far as access is concerned. The message is that we welcome everyone,” he added.
Regarding restrictions for foreign tourists in Saudia, Hamidaddin said, “We have started lifting so many restrictions. In the past, women (tourists) were asked to wear abaya (loose-fitting full-length robe). We no longer ask them to do so. As long as they wear modest (clothes) it is fine,” he said. He also said that earlier, foreign tourist couples needed to prove they were married. “We don’t ask for that anymore,” he said.
Hamidaddin said the Saudis were looking to create “easy and digitally trackable measures” so that people can get visas electronically. “This is what we are now studying and it should be addressed later this year,” he added.
By the end of last year, inbound tourists to Saudi were 72 per cent of the pre-pandemic levels. It was expecting the second-quarter results to reach 150 per cent. Saudi is going through an amazing transformation and tourism is at the forefront, Hamidaddin said.
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