Riyadh - However, women under 25 must be accompanied by a family member.
Published: Thu 11 Jan 2018, 8:22 AM
Updated: Thu 11 Jan 2018, 3:22 PM
Now, women aged 25 and above, wishing to travel to Saudi Arabia alone, can be granted a tourist visa, stated a spokesman for the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH). This move signifies that it will not be necessary for women over 25 to travel with any family member or companion.
However, women under 25 must be accompanied by a family member.
Commenting on the initiative, Director General of the commission's licensing department, Omar Al-Mubarak, said, "The tourist visa will be a single-entry visa valid for a maximum of 30 days. This visa is added to those currently available in the Kingdom. It is independent of work, visit, Hajj and Umrah visas."
The SCTH added that the issuance of the tourist visas will be announced during the first quarter of 2018. "Regulations for tourist visas have been finalized and an electronic system is being built in coordination with the National Information Center and the Foreign Ministry," Al-Mubarak was quoted in Arab News.
Moreover, while the tourist visa system was being implemented between 2008 and 2010, over 32,000 tourists visited the Kingdom during this period. The visa procedures for these tourists were facilitated several tour operators licensed by the SCTH. The move is aimed to revive the previous tourist visa system and attract more visitors to the Kingdom, besides, creating more job opportunities.
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