Cairo: Saudi Arabia issued a total of 82,201 entry visas last year for foreigners to attend a calendar of sports, cultural and entertainment events as the kingdom is increasingly opening up to the outside world.
The Saudi Ministry of Sports took the lead in the number of visas constituting 63 per cent of the total followed by the General Entertainment Authority with 22 per cent, and the Culture Ministry with 11 per cent, according to a breakdown in the Saudi newspaper Al Watan.
The rest were issued for events organised by the Tourism Ministry and the Public Investment Fund during the year.
The thematic visas were issued for 52 events including the tourism events “the Summer Season” and “Saudi Spirit”, and the flagship entertainment “Riyadh Season”, as well as book fairs in Riyadh, Medina and the Eastern Province, a world tennis tournament and an Arab-Chinese business forum.
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In recent years, the kingdom has introduced a set of facilities aimed to draw more foreign tourists to the country as part of an ambitious development scheme designed to diversify oil-reliant economy.
Saudi Arabia’s tourism industry is flourishing. The number of tourists in the kingdom surged to more than 100 million last year.
Saudi Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb said earlier this year the kingdom’s tourism sector in 2023 fulfilled a target of 100 million tourists including 77 million local visitors and 27 million tourist arrivals.
He cited a strategy charted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman envisaging 150 million tourists annually in the country by 2030 including 80 million domestic tourists and 70 foreign million arrivals.
