Following the recent news that Saudi Arabia have launched their new eVisa applications for 49 countries in a bid to open up tourism to the country, Stuba have announced that they are extending their existing programme to Saudi Arabia.
Chief Commercial Officer, Matt Stuart reports, “We’re delighted with the recent news that eVisas are now available and that Saudi is opening up for business and presenting itself as the next sought after destination. We already have a good sized programme from the UK and Middle East markets primarily for pilgrimage travel but it doesn’t currently extend much beyond that.”
Historically one of the hardest countries to visit as a tourist, as only Muslim pilgrims, workers with sponsored business visas and family members of Saudi Nationals were eligible for tourist visas. With cultural shift in recent years and lots of new tourist developments including a number of new luxury beach resorts, Saudi Arabia also offers five UNESCO heritage sites, archaeological sites, a huge stretch of Red Sea coastline and is putting itself firmly on the tourist map.
Stuart goes on to say “It’s a huge country, and we already feature 19 destinations in Saudi Arabia, with 911 properties that are 3* and above. 302 of these are in Makah and Medina, the popular pilgrimage sites, but we are looking to extend this and are deploying extra resources in the coming weeks and months to ensure that we get a strong foothold of market share to the destination. We think it has huge potential, and whilst it may not immediately be the top of everyone’s list, the country that has felt closed for so long is finally opening its doors and we will be ready!”
