The Saudi Arabian cabinet has approved a proposal to create electronic visas for visitors from other countries. Soon, visitors to the desert nation will only need an electronic visa to enter and enjoy sporting events, musical performances, and business activities.
The goal of the action is to open up Saudi Arabia’s society and diversify the country’s economy.
Until far, only business tourists, resident workers, and Muslim pilgrims have been granted visas by Saudi Arabia. For visiting holy places, the latter are granted special visas.
Before last year, visas intended especially for travel were not accessible. In December 2018, the first tourist visas were granted for the Formula-E event in Riyadh.
However, the nation has implemented a number of reforms as part of its Vision 2030 agenda, spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. The nation wants to see a $46.6 billion increase in total tourist spending in the kingdom by both foreign and domestic visitors by 2020. The amount spent was $27.9 billion in 2015.
It is anticipated that obtaining a new electronic visa for Saudi Arabia will just take a few minutes. Following that, the application will be processed in a day by Saudi Arabian Embassies and Consulates. It is still unclear, though, when applications for this visa will open.
