RIYADH, 29 April — A group of 355 Japanese tourists arrived here last night on board a chartered Saudia flight to discover the history and heritage of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This is the biggest contingent of tourists to visit the country, a treasure house of cultural, historical and archaeological sites.
The tour organized by Saudia follows directives of Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, who heads the Higher Tourism Authority. Kingdom has experienced an influx of foreign tourists since authorities decided to welcome foreign visitors from this year as part of its bid to diversify the economy.
The number is expected to increase substantially after the government started issuing one-month visas for Umrah pilgrims to allow them stay in the Kingdom for sight-seeing.
Junya Matsuura, first secretary at Japanese Embassy, said the trip was launched at a glittering ceremony organized by Saudia in the Japanese capital Tokyo.
He said each Japanese tourist was likely to spend a minimum of $4,000 during the 12-day long trip. The special plane carrying the tourists left for Jeddah after some of the tourists disembarked in Riyadh. The trip coincides with the “Golden Week” vacation, which began yesterday in Japan. Although, a number of tourists mainly from the US, Japan, Germany, Spain and UK have been visiting the Kingdom, this is the largest tourist group to visit the Kingdom.
This also indicates the interest of South Asians to discover the Arabian Peninsula. Tourists mainly from Europe, the US and Japan have been visiting the Kingdom in groups through tour operators. This tour marks the entry of Saudia into the lucrative Japanese tourist market.
