JEDDAH, 9 June 2007 — The Supreme Commission for Tourism (SCT) has started issuing group visas through tour operators for foreigners intending to visit the Kingdom, according to a senior official.
Ahmed Al-Eissa, director general for licenses and quality at SCT, said tourist visas could be obtained for a maximum period of 60 days. “Generally visas are issued in accordance with the tour program,” he added.
Spelling out the conditions for obtaining tourist visas, he said tourists should come in groups of not less than five members. The minimum age for women to get visas is 30 if they are not traveling with their close relatives, he added.
The Kingdom has started receiving tourists who come by shipping lines.
“Tourist ships intending to visit the Kingdom must coordinate with organizations licensed by the commission,” Eissa told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.
Shipping lines should provide the SCT with information such as the names of tourists, passport numbers and the tour program.
A tourist ship carrying 121 Germans visited the Kingdom last month. Representatives from the SCT, Foreign Ministry, the Passport Department, Border Guards and the Saudi Ports Authority received them on arrival at Jeddah Islamic Port.
During a six-hour tour of Jeddah, the Germans visited the Corniche, the Fatima Mosque, Old Jeddah, the open museum, Qabel Street Market, Al-Alawi Souk and other tourist attractions in the city.
Saudi guide Samir Al-Qamsani said the German tourists also visited a number of historical sites in Old Jeddah, including the Naseef House, Wali House and Madloom Bakery, one of the oldest in the Kingdom.
The SCT has been linked with the Interior Ministry and Foreign Ministry with a computer system in order to facilitate issuance of visas. The new system also allows pilgrims coming for Umrah to obtain tourist visas through tourism offices.
The SCT has decided to issue tourist visas through licensed tour operators as part of its efforts to attract 1.5 million tourists a year by 2020, excluding the millions who come on Haj and Umrah pilgrimages.
Presently there are 18 licensed tour operators bringing foreigners on tourist visas to the country. In the absence of licensed tour operators, Saudi Arabian Airlines was given the authority to bring in tourists from different parts of the world under its “Discover Saudi Arabia” program.
The SCT has been making tremendous efforts to strengthen the Kingdom’s tourism sector by carrying out various projects. It plans to establish advanced tourist cities on the coasts of Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf.
The tourism sector, along with Haj and Umrah services, currently contributes six percent of the Kingdom’s GDP or SR55 billion ($14.6 billion) annually.
