31 May 2016
RIYADH: With an increase in Saudi visitors traveling abroad without visa requirements, more than 72 countries are seeking to attract Saudis, according to tourism experts.

"Most countries that Saudis like to go to in Europe are Switzerland, Spain, Italy, France, German, Austria and in the east to Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and other countries," said Saudi Travelers Director General Haifa Al-Dosari.

She said the countries which are not considered for tourism include Dubai, Turkey and Egypt, because the Saudi citizens tend to travel in these countries all year round.

"There are 72 countries which Saudis can go to without a prior visa from their consulates and embassies in Saudi Arabia; the visas for these countries are obtainable at the airports there," she added.

Al-Dosari said that the rise in the number of countries giving visas to Saudis at airports shows the trust the countries repose on Saudi citizens, their purchasing power and their wish to enter countries either for investments, travel or work.

Khaled Bawazir, an investor, said many countries have set up offices in the Kingdom to promote tourism and this has worked because of the cheap prices compared to the spending in these countries.

He said countries such as Spain are visited by 40 million tourists annually and Saudis go there for pleasant holidays.

"Expenditures of Saudi tourists have increased lately, registering at more than SR30 billion annually and this is naturally because of the fact Saudis want to keep traveling abroad," he said.

He said there must be a need to build a total touristic system in future to diversify internal tourism and build the GDP by 5 percent. Bawazir called on touristic investors to expand their projects with new funding channels and implant Vision 2030.

© Arab News 2016