The Saudi Tourism Authority announced Wednesday that it aims to raise the number of annual visits to 100 million visitors by 2030, including 55 million visits from abroad in addition to 45 million visits from within Saudi Arabia, thereby providing one million job opportunities and increasing the country’s GDP by 10 percent.

Based on the Saudi Arabia 2030 vision, the Saudi tourism sector is accelerating steps towards the future through non-stop projects and initiatives, announcing tourist destinations dedicated to geographical and historical diversity, and shedding light on natural resources, archaeological treasures and historical places.

The Saudi Tourism Authority has prepared programs to attract tourism, and has been working on stimulating tourism investment and the role of the private sector.

The authority has also been present in local and international tourism exhibitions and has taken care of marketing destinations, sites, itineraries, products and tourist packages internally and abroad.

Marketing and promotional campaigns for tourist destinations in the kingdom have been launched, the last of which was the “Saudi Summer” program from the “Spirit of Saudi Arabia” platform to promote 11 tourist destinations until the end of next September, with more than 500 tourist experiences presented by 250 partners from the private sector.

Saudi Arabia has become a haven for tourists both within region and globally, as the number of issued visas – prior to the pandemic – reached about 450,000 since the launch of the tourist visa by the Saudi Tourism Authority in 2019.

The authority targets 49 countries in is first stage, and facilitates obtaining tourist visas electronically or through entry points to the kingdom within specific regulatory rules.

Tourism is one of the pillars of the kingdom’s Vision 2030, to contribute to diversifying the base of the Saudi economy, attract investments, increase sources of income, and provide job opportunities for citizens, as the sector is witnessing rapid growth thanks to plans to promote the tourism sector.