Saudi Arabia—with an eye toward becoming one of the world's premier tourist destinations—may begin offering tourist visas.
The kingdom has long kept its borders virtually closed to outsiders. To visit Saudi Arabia now requires invitation from a sponsor and visas are only given to groups on a very limited basis.
Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, who heads the Saudi Commission for Tourism, told the Financial Times that a tourist program may begin in the fall.
Saudi Arabia is exploring numerous revenue-generating options to make up for its losses in oil income. Oil prices have been falling for years, resulting in hundreds of billions of dollars in income losses annually.
Aramco, its massive oil producer, is readying for a 2018 initial public offering. Investments in water, renewable energy and hospitality properties are also broadening the Kingdom’s portfolio.
To be sure, the recent meeting between King Salman and President Donald Trump has raised Saudi Arabia’s profile around the world, placing the visit as headline news and perhaps implanting the idea of more general, global citizen visits.
Prince Sultan informed the Financial Times that he has been advocating for broader tourism to his country for the past 17 years. Conditions now may be ripe. He has received funding for tourism projects throughout the nation. Visa costs seem to even have been set. They would cost $40 and be issued by embassies abroad.
Camel festivals, desert trips, ancient ruins, museums and, of course, cities such as Riyadh, Jeddah, and Mecca are among the sights to behold.
At a recent family office event, frontier fund investors pushed the notion of more open Saudi investment markets. Accessible markets necessitate visitors, if not for due diligence purposes alone.
With most of the world explored, Saudi Arabia could, with all of its capital, rebrand itself as the new “it” destination.