Country Pushes for Visa-Free Access to China

  

Source: OT-Team(G), Caixin Global; Culture Newspaper

 Saudi Arabia's tourism minister is pushing for visa-free travel with China, according to Caixin Global on October 30.

  Saudi Arabia's tourism minister suggests Beijing and Riyadh could do more to enable visa-free travel as the oil-rich country looks to make Chinese visitors central to its plan for tourism to become a much bigger part of its economy.

  The two governments should further relax visa requirements, Ahmed Al Khateeb said in an Oct. 17 interview during a trip to China. Al Khateeb called on the two governments to discuss how to make it possible for their citizens to travel to each other's countries without a visa.

  In 2023, over 100 million tourists chose Saudi Arabia as their destination—a massive 56% increase compared to 2019.  Data from the Saudi Tourism Authority shows that of these visitors, 77 million were domestic travelers, while 27 million came from abroad, injecting more than US$67 billion into the Kingdom's economy.

  These figures reflect Saudi Arabia's growing appeal as a travel destination and its efforts to make tourism a central pillar of its economic strategy.  By fostering a visa-free agreement with China, the Kingdom could see even more impressive tourism milestones on the horizon.