Saudi Arabia is set to relax its visa entry requirements further with a new program to boost tourism that grants a four-day visa to those who fly into the Kingdom on its national carrier, Saudia, according to reports.
The program called “Your Ticket is a Visa” is being launched by the airline in conjunction with the Saudi government to attract more foreign tourists, according to a report in businesstravelerusa.com, and will be rolled out “soon.”
The new program will simplify even further the process of obtaining a visa to enter Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia long had one of the most stringent visa requirements for entry globally, allowing mostly only performers of pilgrimages, diplomats, and business travelers to visit the Kingdom.
In September 2018, just two years after Vision 2030 was launched, Saudi Arabia revealed electronic visas with a new site, Visit Saudi, to allow international motor racing fans to travel to the kingdom to attend the inaugural Saudia Ad Diriyah E Prix.
The successful launch of that website, and the ease of receiving a tourist visa within an hour emailed online, was a boon for the nascent Kingdom’s tourism sector. Interested travelers need only to sign up online and pay a fee with any standard international credit card.
The new program from Saudia makes the process even easier. Prospective visitors need only to fill out a form while booking a flight with Saudia, a process that takes a matter of minutes.
According to the report in businesstravelerusa.com, Saudi officials have also confirmed that visitors can apply for visas via the same system on some UAE-based carriers, with Emirates, Etihad Airways, and Fly Dubai offering 48- to 96-hour visas along with airfare tickets.
“The new program will allow the visitor to link his visa to the stage of issuing the ticket,” said Abdullah Al-Shahrani, a spokesperson for Saudia Airlines, to Saudi news agency Akhbaar 24.
“When the traveler is interested in purchasing a ticket, he will be linked to a direct question about his need for the visa. If the passenger answers yes, he will complete the procedure that does not exceed three minutes from the same site without the need to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website to obtain a visa, as is the case with some countries.”
