Chinese Tourists Enjoy Enhanced Saudi Travel Starting July

Chinese tourists can start to enjoy enhanced travel benefits when they travel to Saudi Arabia.

Beginning in July 2024, travelers from China get access to streamlined visa processes, affordable tickets, 130 percent more daily flights between China and Saudi Arabia, Mandarin signages at airports, Mandarin information available on www.visitsaudi.cn, as well as Mandarin-speaking tourist guides and Mandarin-speaking hotel staff.

Chinese airlines such as China Air, China Eastern, and China Southern have announced direct flights to Saudi Arabia.

Moreover, Chinese tourists can now apply for a Saudi visa upon arrival.

They can also already pay at Saudi airports and tourist attractions using Chinese payment methods like China UnionPay.

Saudi Arabia: Approved Destination Status

These provisions underscore Saudi Arabia being achieving Approved Destination Status for Chinese tourists, as reported earlier in June.

The Approved Destination Status is an agreement that countries enter with China, relaxing travel requirements for Chinese tourist groups.

The milestone supports Saudi Arabia’s aim to become a strategic and economic partner of China, boost trade relations, and improve the tourism sector.

5M Chinese tourists by 2030

By 2030, Saudi Arabia hopes to attract as many as five million Chinese visitors.

The kingdom will unveil more of its travel benefits for Chinese tourists in the coming years.

In line with this, Saudi Arabia worked with travel agencies for its marketing campaigns.

“By strengthening bilateral ties with China, the ADS agreement opens doors for economic development across sectors, benefiting both nations,” remarked Saudi Ambassador to China Abdulrahman Ahmad Al-Harbi in June.

“Partnerships with trusted Chinese brands such as UnionPay, Trip.com, Huawei, and Tencent further enhance our offerings,” he added.

According to a report by digital publication Jing Daily, 290,000 Chinese tourists had visited Saudi Arabia as of April 2024.

This indicated a 101 percent increase versus the same period in 2023.

The Saudi Tourism Authority noted that in 2023 alone, over 100 million travelers visited Saudi Arabia.

This marked 56 percent more visitors than in 2019, before the global COVID-19 health crisis.

Saudi-China Tourism Efforts

In connection with Saudi-China relations, the Saudi Air Connectivity Program (ACP) welcomed the arrival of the inaugural flight of China Airlines at the King Khalid International Airport (RUH) earlier in June.

Saudi smart city project NEOM also launched the China leg of its “Discover NEOM” global tour in April.

More than 500 industry and business leaders attended the event held in Beijing and Shanghai.

With “Discover NEOM”, Saudi tourism authorities hope to attract more Chinese investors to invest in NEOM, set to be one of Saudi Arabia’s next luxury destinations.

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