Unified tourist visa for Saudi Arabia and Oman

During his visit to Oman, the Saudi Minister of Tourism, Ahmed Al-Khatib, talked with Salem bin Mohammed Al-Mahrouqi, the Omani Minister of Tourism and Heritage, to explore ways to boost various sectors, particularly tourism.

During the meeting, several joint tourism initiatives and programs were introduced to attract international tourists, as well as citizens and residents of GCC countries. The most significant of these initiatives included:

• The introduction of a unified tourist visa.
• Seasonal tours between the two countries.
• A joint tourism calendar.

Another initiative aimed to promote trade and investment cooperation, particularly in the tourism sector. It also aimed to support entrepreneurs interested in tourism in both countries and provide training and development for human resources in the tourism industry. These initiatives were developed under the Gulf Tourism Strategy 2023-2030, adopted by GCC leaders in December of last year, with the Kingdom serving as chair.

Notably, the number of tourists from the Sultanate of Oman to the Kingdom reached about 164 thousand tourists during the first quarter of 2023. This was with a growth rate of 136% over the same period in 2022.

While the expenditure of tourists coming from Oman to the Kingdom amounted to about 310 million riyals during the first quarter, achieving a growth of 71%, while the number of tourists departing from the Kingdom to Oman reached almost 49 thousand tourists during the first quarter of this year, with a growth rate of 92% over the same period of 2022. The growth rate of expenditure of tourists departing from the Kingdom to Oman increased by 117% for the same period of 2022, spending about 213 million. Riyals.