Saudi Arabia opens up to Tourism

Saudi Arabia opens up to Tourism

The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a state located on the western side of Asia containing numerous Arabian Peninsula within an approximated area of 2,260,000 square kilometers. In west Asia, the state is the largest sovereign nation, and after Algeria, it is the second-largest in the Arab world. Despite being boarded by several incredible countries such as Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Yemen, and even Israel and Egypt. its economy was the largest in the Middle East, with oil being the primary source of revenue. However, the government has currently given a big hand in tourism in that as of 2017, Saudi Arabia became the second-largest destination for tourists in the Middle East with over sixteen million visitors that year (Khan, & Alam, 2014). There has been a significant shift and advancement in the industry as there is the development of leisure, which is different from the famous tourist attraction in the area (Saudi Arabia religious pilgrimages).

As Saudi Arabia opens up to travel and tourism, one might wonder what is interesting in the country considering that it is blazingly hot for roughly eight months annually, has no political freedom, alcohol is prohibited, limited right of speech, and minimal interaction of the sexes. And like another state in the middle east, Saudi Arabia also has a record of excessive violation of human rights. This is evident as the kingdom has displayed several public executions, imprisoned and tortured women’s rights activists, and was also associated with the high profile murder of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. However, it is worth noting that the nation is diverse intensely in terms of landscape and scenery. Some of the most potential areas of visit in the country include red sea diving, Hijaz, several ancient ruins, and Sarawat mountains (Khan, & Alam, 2014). The sector is anticipated to turn out to be Saudi Arabia’s white oil considering that the government has been making substantial boosts in the industry (Tayeh, & Mustafa, 2011).

the industry has done well as of last year as it was anticipated to produce approximately twenty-five billion dollars, a significant rise from nine percent in 2018 to sixteen percent previous year. Some of the remarkable boosts the state has taken in the sector include the 2013 December,  A historic year as the country declared its intention to start giving out visas to tourists for the first time. Consequently, there was the formation of the ages (Saudi Commission for tourism and antiquities) by the council of ministers that was entrusted with the duty of issuing visas to individuals who meet particular legislation passed by the interior and foreign affairs ministries (Zamani‐Farahani, & Henderson, 2010). and with eight dollars, the country officially announced to have offered visitors from fort-nine states with tourist visas as of September 27th last year. And to make the process more convenient, the visas can either be obtained on arrival or online in eVisa.

To illustrate how the country is a point of interest for many tourists across the globe, approximately 24000 foreigners visited the nation ten days after Saudi Arabia officially implemented the visa policy. When a ranking was done of the states with the most visitors in the country, china came first followed by the united kingdom, then the united states. The entrance to Saudi Arabia has been facilitated by thirteen international airports operated by several worldwide airlines as well as fifteen local airports that link the state’s regions and towns. Some of the convenience budget airlines used for moving within the state include Saudi airlines, Nesma Airlines, Flynas, saudiGulf airlines, and Fadeal. Makkah, Medain Saleh, Riyadh, Jeddah, and Yanbu are the top places to visit in the nation (Mumuni, & Mansour, 2014). Even though the country has experienced significant growth in the industry, there are vital aspects that i think the kingdom should resolve and improve to enhance its attraction to the outside world. The first primary area is the infrastructure, which is one of the most significant barriers that the government should resolve because it is completely limited and new in the ground.

It is sturdy and challenging for individuals in Saudi to communicate effectively with international customers because most of the region speaks Arabic, and the country attracts more non-religious visitors. Human capital is also an essential aspect, which consists of individuals with diverse skills because it helps increase employee’s service base as there are more ticketing agents currently than travel advisors and quality hospitality. As the country embraces the new tourism industry, the government has made efforts to lessen most of its long-standing conservative regulations to usher the sector smoothly. For instance, unmarried couples touring Saudi can share a room, and it is now optional to wear an abaya all to make the state advanced (Tayeh, & Mustafa, (2011). A lot of events and activities have been done recently to illustrate the administration’s dedication to developing travel and tourism economy in the state.

References

Khan, S., & Alam, M. S. (2014). Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A potential destination for medical tourism. Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, 9(4), 257-262.

Mumuni, A. G., & Mansour, M. (2014). Activity-based segmentation of the outbound leisure tourism market of Saudi Arabia. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 20(3), 239-252.

Tayeh, S. N. A., & Mustafa, M. H. (2011). Toward empowering the labor Saudization of the tourism sector in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 1(1), 80-84.

Zamani‐Farahani, H., & Henderson, J. C. (2010). Islamic tourism and managing tourism development in Islamic societies: the cases of Iran and Saudi Arabia. International journal of tourism research, 12(1), 79-89.