Saudi Arabia's decision to stop tourist visas draws mixed reaction

Ban applies to Gulf expatriates only and does not affect business visas

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2 MIN READ
Rex Features
Rex Features
Rex Features

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia's decision to stop granting tourist visas may be justified. It does not encompass everyone and therefore may not effect the industry as badly as thought.

It is common for Saudi Arabia to withdraw the tourist visa after the Haj season to make sure visitors don't stay indefinitely in the country.

"This is the main reason and it also has to do with capacity in the holy cities during peak season and country quotas for Haj. The holy cities are under severe capacity pressure and the ‘stay behind' phenomenon is a real issue," Sven Gade, director and head of consulting — PKF The Consulting House, told Gulf News.

He added it was important to keep in mind that the visa ban applies to Gulf expatriates only and does not affect business travel visas.

Gulf News reported earlier that the tourism industry in the country opposed the Saudi Commission for Tourism & Antiquities (SCTA) decision to stop issuing tourist visas.

Bolstering facilities

Prince Abdullah Bin Saud, chairman of the consultative committee for organisers of tourist trips, reckoned it would not help develop domestic tourism.

He cited growing tourist visa numbers, more than tripling within a year, and expressed his desire to encourage this trend.

The SCTA said it could not comment on their decision when contacted. The commission, however, has over the years repeatedly stated its preference to focus on bolstering facilities to encourage domestic tourism, a huge market, before inviting too many outsiders.

"The growth in [primarily domestic and religious] tourism in Saudi Arabia has been phenomenal since the tourism master plan was launched in 2002," said Gade.

The SCTA is currently focusing on preserving its heritage sites, increasing the number of hotels around the country, as well as entertainment centres.

"We don't want mass tourism. We're looking for our own position in the market. We want to be a destination where visitors not only enjoy the importance as the seat of Islam, but enjoy adventure and focus on family so they don't go abroad," Prince Sultan Bin Salman Al Saud, Secretary-General, Saudi Arabia's Supreme Commission for Tourism, said during the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference back in 2007.

Saudi Arabia's inbound tourism has assisted with job creation and increasing revenues in the sector. There seems to be little reason why hotels would suffer losses from the tourist visa withdrawal, considering the ban on tourist visas is reportedly only temporary until February 2011.

"I doubt that the ban on tourist visas affects the hotels much as most religious travellers travel during peak seasons [hotels full in any case] and the share of pure international tourists which are not Gulf nationals visiting the Saudi Arabia is not very large," Gade said.

In addition, most airline travel by non-Gulf nationals from the UAE is business travel — with the exception of pilgrims which airlines, like re-launched RAK Airways, are sure to capture, Gade said.

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