Saudi citizens have welcomed a government announcement that the Kingdom is reopening for domestic tourism, after coronavirus restrictions put a stop to travel for months.
Saudi Tourism Minister Ahmed Al-Khatib told Al-Arabiya news channel that the ministry was launching a rich domestic tourism program in the summer, saying that 80 per cent of citizens shared their interest in visiting local destinations within their country instead of traveling abroad as they usually would.
“We have started to see indicators for some countries in the world that have started to resume tourism, and Saudi Arabia will resume as well at the end of Shawwal (June 21) for 24 hours except for Makkah. We are ready to launch the summer program, we have a rich domestic tourism program in the summer. We did some research and heard from citizens that 80 percent of them want domestic tourism in the summer instead of international tourism.”
He added that the ministry would release the program to the public after it was approved by the Health Ministry and top committees.
“I’m team staycation,” 25-year-old Mohammed Alhumaidhi told Arab News. “I’m a guy who loves hunting, fishing and out-of-reach areas.”
He had a few destinations in mind to visit with family and friends, including NEOM city, but said he would not be able to travel for leisure any time soon as he had some business trips to make first.
Al-Khatib, who heads the current session of the Arab Ministerial Council for Tourism, said that more than 80 million employees in the Arab tourism sector, or part of them, were at risk of losing their jobs due to the repercussions of the global Covid-19 crisis.
The Arab Ministerial Council for Tourism held an emergency meeting on Wednesday and discussed challenges facing the region’s tourism sector due to the pandemic, and ways to overcome the repercussions and stimulate the tourism sector.
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