Saudi Tourism Authority Aims to Welcome 7.5 Million Indian Tourists By 2023: Alhasan Aldabbagh

The end of a year shatters some hopes and brings some new ones for everyone. For Saudi, the end of 2023 brought new hopes as the number of Indian tourists increased from 1 million to 1.5 million in the previous year. This progress of over 50 percent in the numbers raises Saudi Arab’s spirits. On account of this, the Saudi Tourism Authority aims to host 7.5 Million Indian Tourists by 2023, remarks Alhasan Aldabbagh. 

Alhasan Aldabbagh also quotes that India plays a considerable part in Saudi Arabia’s inbound market. Mentioning this, he plans to make Saudi the number 1 outbound market for Indian tourists and India the number 1 inbound market for Saudi. 

The highlights of Saudi Arabia for visitors from India or across the world will be sustainable and responsible tourism. With this measure, Saudi sets a goal to grow its travel sector and attain Net Zero by 2060 with the implementation of renewable energy projects like The Red Sea and NEOM.

Why Indian Tourists are Attracted to Saudi Arabia?

One of the reasons why people travel around is to explore different cultures and activities. Indian tourists find Saudi captivating in terms of landscape, heritage, spirituality, and lifestyle. Not only in India but citizens living across the world have developed a trend of visiting the most Instagrammable places. Spots of Saudi Arabia such as the Kingdom Center Tower, Hegra (Mada’in Salih), Riyadh, Jeddah, Umrah, and Alula are getting famous online fascinating visitors. These places are the reason for the visit of Indian tourists to Saudi for leisure. But once in Saudi, they end up finding beautiful undiscovered destinations like Amala, Diriyah, Umluj Island, Al Souda, and Taif. 

With a mix of famous and untouched locations, they experience religious awareness and Saudi fills their hearts with countless memories.

How Saudi Tourism Authority Plans to Welcome 7.5 Million Indian Tourists By 2023

Saudi Arabia is taking deliberating steps towards driving a positive change through sustainable and responsible tourism. Although the primary reason for Indians visiting Saudi is their family and friends living on the land, one-third of that population is visiting Saudi for a vacation. Based upon this enumeration, Saudi is partnering up with different travel partners to ensure the best travel experience for Indian visitors. 

Some of these partnerships are the opening of VIA Riyadh, the opening of multiple VFS Tasheer Visa offices, and new air connections with Indigo routing from Ahmedabad to Jeddah. 

Some of the plans that are already executed and are under execution are: 

• Saudi Arabia has signed itself as the official partner of the IPL (Indian Premier League). Using the IPL as a platform Saudi wants to make Indians aware of the offerings it has for Indian travelers with a desire for a luxurious and elegant experience. 
• Saudi Arabia has introduced the Nusuk platform that eases up Indian tourists’ Umrah journey. It is a one-stop solution for all Umrah travel needs ranging from visa and Umrah permits to flights and hotel bookings. This is an initiative to enhance Indian Muslims’ Mecca and Medina experience making it easier than ever.
• Saudi has tailored promotional tour packages with travel booking leaders such as Cleartrip, SOTC, Make My Trip, Akbar Travels, and Ease My Trip. This is a step in accordance to advertise Saudi as the leading destination for Indian tourists. 
• Like India, Saudi is also a land filled with varied but unified cultural heritage and traditions across the landscape. Promoting its enriching culture, Saudi invites explorers from India.
• Saudi has improved air connectivity with India to ensure a prime travel experience. The air capacity between Saudi Arabia and India has seen a significant increase with a 31% growth since 2019. The number reached 2.8 million seats in 2023 as a result of direct flights from 12 major Indian hubs to prominent cities in Saudi. With further plans to enhance air connectivity between Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Madinah, there is only growth to see. 
• Great plans demand huge investments for impactful results. Recognizing this, Saudi is all set to invest USD 550 billion to develop tourist destinations and invest USD 800 billion by 2030 in tourism. This investment will set the seal on stronger collaborations and enhanced air connectivity for seamless travel.

This Aim Will Turn World Economy Upside Down

The tourism sector plays a huge role in the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). With the increase in the number of tourists increases the revenue of the travel sphere across the world. Therefore, Saudi achieving and exceeding its goal to welcome 7.5 million Indian tourists by 2030 benefits the world more than the nation Also, its courses of action towards sustainable tourism will result in substantial environmental conservation. The attainment of this goal awaits more than a better future for the country and the globe.