In a unique embrace of an otherwise uninteresting aspect of its economy, Saudia Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has announced plans to develop a 150,000-square-meter complex of hotels, restaurants, and entertainment and sporting venues that will be located not within a city or even on land, but on an offshore oil rig. The project, aptly named […]
Diriyah: The Past and Future of Saudi Arabia
Anyone with even a basic knowledge of Middle Eastern history, geography, and culture knows of Saudi Arabia’s powerhouse capital city, Riyadh; its namesake royal family, the Al Sauds; and its predominant sect of Islam, Wahabism. However, not nearly as many have heard of the place that connects all three of these in a very historically […]
Saudi Arabia has 350,000 reasons to celebrate the success of its tourism decision
Saudi Arabia is experiencing a relative tourism boom in response to opening its borders to secular international visitors in September of 2019. A little more than three months later, the chairman of the the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, Ahmed Al Khatib, said that the country had issued 350,000 tourist visas in Q4 […]
Khalaf Al-Habtoor, Chairman of Al-Habtoor Group
Khalaf Al-Habtoor is the founder and chairman of Al-Habtoor Group, an Emirati holding company for businesses and investmetns in construction, real estate, vehicle sales and rentals, and education. Khalaf Al-Habtoor sat down for a revealing exclusive interview with Arab News to talk about his company’s plans to join in on the expected upcoming Saudi tourism […]
Neom: The Future of Mega Resorts or a Desert Mirage?
Flying cars. Robotic dinosaurs. Holographic educators. An artificial moon. These are just a few of the things that are being touted as elements of Neom, Saudi Arabia’s planned futuristic mega resort on the Red Sea. But is all of this Neom talk just well-financed hype designed to draw headlines, peak investors’ curiosity, and induce FOMO? […]
New data show increasing global interest in Saudi tourism market
A new report from market research firm YouGov has shown that international tourists are gaining interest in visiting Saudi Arabia following the kingdom’s decision last year to begin offering tourist visas en mass and the country’s efforts to promote itself as an emerging tourism destination. The YouGov data revealed that about one out of every […]
Four new Saudi cultural heritage museums set to open around the kingdom
The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) has announced the completion of four new Saudi history and heritage museums to be opened around the kingdom in 2020. These will be the first of 13 new cultural museums slated to be established in Saudi Arabia as part of the country’s National Transformation Program 2020. […]
Saudi Arabia further expands access to its tourism e-visa program
Saudi Arabia has expanded eligibility for its tourism e-visas and arrival visas beyond its initial list of 49 eligible nationalities to those of other nationalities who currently hold valid tourist visas issued by the US, the UK, or the Schengen-zone countries in Europe. This represents a smart and efficient expansion of Saudi Arabia’s visa program, […]
Saudi Arabia opens its doors to mass international tourism
The government of Saudi Arabia has announced that it will open up the country to international tourism for the first time ever as part of a wider initiative to boost the Saudi economy for long-term sustainability and open Saudi society to the global marketplace. Until this major shift in Saudi policy was announced yesterday, the […]
Saudi Arabia opens entire kingdom to Umrah pilgrims
The Saudi Press Agency has announced that a royal decree has been issued authorizing pilgrims who come to kingdom to perform Umrah will now be allowed to travel to all parts of the kingdom on their visits within the validity period of their visa. Previously, those who entered Saudi Arabia on a visa to perform […]
