Faith tourism gets a boost as Saudi Arabia relaxes visa restrictions
Saudi Arabia is set to relax its visa restrictions from next month, to allow visitors on Islamic pilgrimages to stay for longer.
Passport holders of 65 countries will be able to stay for up to 30 days under the extended visa system, which has been designed to increase the number of tourists to the country.
The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) has not yet revealed which countries will be eligible for the Extended Umrah Tourism Programme, scheduled to begin on December 4, the start of the new Umrah season.
Earlier this year, Prince Sultan bin Salman, head of the SCTA, said Saudi Arabia was "serious about making tourism a major player in the economy".
The Saudi Gazette reports: "The integrated system to link Umrah and tourist visas will benefit millions of pilgrims who come to the Kingdom for Umrah every year.
"Prince Sultan said pilgrims from the permitted countries can take advantage of their visa to spend some more time in the Kingdom and visit historical places and tourist attractions.
"The Umrah visa will be converted into a tourist visa after its expiry. The domestic tourism program will be restricted to companies approved by SCTA while the licensed Umrah tour operators need an additional license for this," he said.
Tourism revenues in Saudi Arabia are now worth $16.5bn and the vast majority comes from Islamic pilgrimages to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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