Saudi Arabia and Emirates join forces to boost tourism in the Arab country

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Saudi Arabia and Emirates Airline aims to increase the number of tourists by operating the airline's network of more than 120 destinations. Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO and board member of the Saudi Arabian Tourism Authority, and Adnan Kazim, commercial director of Emirates, were present at the signing of the MoU.

The ceremony took place in Riyadh and the signatories were Adil al-Ghaith, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Gulf, Middle East and Central Asia, and Muhammad Bassrawi, Vice Chairman of the Saudi Arabian Tourism Authority. The MoU highlights the importance of partnerships within the travel ecosystem. 

Both parties will explore all possibilities for joint collaboration on key projects to achieve an improvement in the Kingdom's tourism numbers. The airline, in turn, intends to explore opportunities to align flight schedules between major points of origin and Saudi Arabia. 

Hamidaddin stated that "the Saudi Arabian Tourism Authority continues its efforts to attract tourists, promote tourism destinations in the country by targeting the major markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)".  

This is part of the Authority's efforts to achieve a framework of cooperation with its private sector partners. Saudi Arabia's main objective is to enable citizens from around the world to enjoy the country's cultural heritage and entertainment sector. 

For his part, Tim Clark, Chairman of Emirates, advocates the relevance of this partnership and aims to contribute to the Kingdom's wider tourism plans to "strengthen awareness of its iconic sites and make them more accessible through improved connectivity".

The airline has been operating in the Kingdom since 1989 and has been active mainly in Riyadh, Jeddah, Medina and Dammam. It offers a total of 53 weekly flights to these four cities. Since the start of its services, Emirates has carried more than 25 million passengers to and from the Arab country.  

The MoU, in turn, enables the favourable development of Vision 2030. In 2016, Saudi Arabia launched under this name a programme of reforms aimed at diversifying the economy and overcoming its dependence on oil. Under this plan, numerous investments have been made in infrastructure, technology, tourism and trade. 

The latest JLL City Momentum Index ranks Riyadh as the 18th most dynamic city on the international scene. China, the United Kingdom, Malaysia and the United States, among others, are the main destinations of origin for tourists coming to Saudi Arabia. 

This has been achieved thanks to the abolition of numerous compulsory measures that diminished the country's attractiveness. There are no longer separate restaurants with two distinct areas, one for families and one for singles. Dress codes and codes of conduct are less strict. 

In 2019, the Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) launched, for the first time in its history, a tourist visa. It is valid for one year and allows a maximum continuous stay of 90 days. With this, the tourism sector is expected to account for 10% of the national GDP by 2030.

One of the main assets of the Saudi economy is religious tourism to Mecca and Medina. Now, the Saudi government is seeking to raise awareness of the rest of the country's cultural treasures. Saudi Arabia has five UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and with the Vision 2030 plan, the aim is to double the number of these.