Saudi Arabia’s tourist visa application process has been facilitated for residents of Gulf countries which include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, the authorities have announced.
According to Saudi Arabian tourism Minister, Ahmed Al Khateeb, will be simplified for these residents, as well as allow individuals to explore the region and perform Umrah rituals for those that intend to, VisaGuide.World reports.
“Saudi Arabia’s visa application is now simpler, more convenient and straightforward for residents of GCC states, regardless of their profession,” the Minister pointed out on this regard.
The official Saudi Press Agency revealed that the move was introduced in an effort to offer residents in the GCC states to visit Saudi Arabia, participate in tourism and entertainment events as well as explore the destination.
The visa fee is $80 (300 SAR) and the document will be sent to the applicant’s email upon approval. Applicants should also have a GCC residency permit with a validity of at least three months and a passport that doesn’t expire for at least six months.
Saudi Arabia is determined to increase tourism revenue in the last years, following its Vision 2030 economic diversification strategy. Some of the best tourism projects include AIUIa heritage village which represents a sustainable tourism project on the Red Sea that includes many seaside hotels across 90 islands.
International tourist arrivals in Saudi Arabia have reported an increase of 575 percent in 2022, reaching a total of 3.6 million visitors in the second quarter of 2022. In addition, the revenue generated a total of $4.17 billion (SR 15.7 billion) during the second quarter of the year, showing a 570 percent increase. The National Tourism Strategy aims to attract 100 million tourists by the end of the decade, trying to reach Vision 2030 targets.
Passport Index by VisaGuide.World, Saudi Arabia’s passport score is 33.65, granting visa-free travel to citizens of 37 countries. In addition, the country doesn’t have any entry ban but it has a visa-required regime with 128 countries, an e-visa regime with four countries and Visa-on-arrival with 34 countries.
Moreover, Saudi Arabia has an agreement of passport-free travel with five countries and an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) with four countries. These characteristics rank the passport 110th at an international level.
Passports of other Gulf countries are ranked at similar levels; Bahrain (104th), Kuwait (100th), Oman (108th), Qatar (96th) and the United Arab Emirates (26th), with the latter having the best passport score of 86.92 points.
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