Tourist visas to be introduced in KSA

[al-Hasani]

I would have to see multiple consistent sources to believe those figures mate.

Mate, so you are telling me that "The World Tourism Organization" and their official data is wrong? Really?

World Tourism Organization UNWTO | Committed to Tourism, Travel and the Millennium Development Goals

A simple Google search confirms the position of KSA as the 15th most visited country on earth from multiple sources.

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Footage from this year's Ha'il Rally in the spring. The total distance of the rally was about 1200 km. It's a international rally.

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Still want to see Formula 1 in KSA one day as in nearby Bahrain.

Here are two very nice videos with footage from the air (first one) from some regions of KSA but they are several years old:

 

[al-Hasani]

Soon al Muslims will get an Islamic State pasport and will be free to visit Mecca and Medina when they want.

@Arabian Legend @JUBA @Yzd Khalifa @Hadbani @Full Moon @Bubblegum Crisis @Awadd etc.

 

[al-Hasani]

KSA has 1,300 islands with no inhabitants​

RIYADH: ARAB NEWS
Published — Friday 12 April 2013
Last update 12 April 2013 8:42 pm
The Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) revealed that there are more than 1,300 Saudi islands scattered along the Kingdom’s coastline in the Red Sea and the Gulf, across 3,800 kilometers.
The continental shelf led to the formation of a variety of small and large islands, situation above sea level in the formation of rocks.These islands differ in origin and composition, however the vast majority are coral, while the remaining are desert, continental and volcanic islands.
Most of the islands along the Saudi coastline are flat, while some islands in the Red Sea are above sea level with highlands such as Tiran Island at 581 meters above sea level, Sanafir and Yabua islands at 112 meters above sea level.
The director of the SGS said that the majority of those 1300 islands are uninhabited due to their tough natural composition and climatic conditions as well as the lack of economic resources, with the exception of Farasan, Sajid Islands and Qummah Islands in Red Sea, in addition to Tarout, Abu Ali and Qannah Islands in the Gulf, which are inhabited by a small population size.

KSA has 1,300 islands with no inhabitants | Arab News — Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more.

Farasan Island, Saudi Arabia جزيرة فرسان، المملكة العربية السعودية by Alrefaei_A, on Flickr​

Le Lagon bleu (sans Brooke Shields) by Délirante bestiole [la poésie des goupils], on Flickr

Purity by منصور العطياني, on Flickr

Biodiversity of Saudi Arabian Red Sea Coral Reefs​

Details
‪The Red Sea is one of the most understudied areas in the world in terms of marine biodiversity, and yet the high level of endemism indicates that additional evolutionary partitions await discovery. Beginning in late 2012, we plan to operate a series of regional research cruises to complete a survey of reef fauna over the next three years. The underlying motivation is to demonstrate how coral reef biodiversity is produced and maintained; the conservation motivation is therefore compelling. A core team of experts will address particular fish and coral taxa on every cruise, while other taxa will be addressed by experts participating in at least one of the cruises. All participants will sample reefs near KAUST to create a common, central study location with comprehensive coverage. By using information on the geographic distribution of reef fauna, along with our inferred genetic relationships, we will provide a much stronger scientific foundation for establishing MPA networks that can maintain representative examples of biodiversity in each region and preserve source populations that may act to replenish coastal stocks.

‪Working with the IUCN, we intend to establish the conservation status of species from numerous families, many targeted by local fisheries, in order to determine levels of protection needed to preserve the biodiversity of the region. The connectivity data from the research proposed herein would therefore be especially valuable, as would the goal of identifying previously-unrecognized endemic species. Based on preliminary findings, we believe this project will result in a number of new species descriptions. Further, this research will be the first to address whether the Red Sea reef communities survived glacial salinity crises, or whether they are the product of recent and rapid speciation under diversifying ecological conditions. Are the Red Sea reef communities millions of years old, or thousands of years old? We hope that these expeditions can provide insight to this long-standing evolutionary enigma.

‪If you have taxonomic expertise with a particular group of coral reef organims and would like to discuss potential collaboration or participation in one of the sampling cruises, please contact Prof. Berumen.
Collaborators
Brian Bowen, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology
Luiz Rocha, California Academy of Sciences
Andrew Baird, James Cook University
Howard Choat, James Cook University
Joseph DiBattista, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology
numerous others to be determined!

Coral Reef Ecology Lab - Biodiversity of Saudi Arabian Red Sea Coral Reefs

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Dangerous Red Sea sharks | INFOgraphics | RIA Novosti

Any trolling/off topic posts/derailing of the thread from the usual suspects here will be reported directly to the moderators by PM. Make a hate thread against KSA and post all your posts there instead I suggest.

 

[Chak Bamu]

I would have to see multiple consistent sources to believe those figures mate.

I need only two words to know that he is probably right - Umrah & Hajj.

Have you been to Mecca? Just Umrah crowd during Ramadan is in excess of 2 millions during the last third of the holy month. Then there is Hajj, and Umrah (year round), and of course some normal tourism. KSA must be one of the most visited places, it not hard to see why.

 

[al-Hasani]

I need only two words to know that he is probably right - Umrah & Hajj.

Have you been to Mecca? Just Umrah crowd during Ramadan is in excess of 2 millions during the last third of the holy month. Then there is Hajj, and Umrah (year round), and of course some normal tourism. KSA must be one of the most visited places, it not hard to see why.

This is correct brother. Besides the data is not something that I invented for the occasion but actually what the "World Tourism Organization" publishes and dozens of other sources.

World Tourism Organization UNWTO | Committed to Tourism, Travel and the Millennium Development Goals

The numbers for both Umrah and Hajj will only increase significantly for each future decade let alone the development of a real tourism industry. There is a lot of potential without a doubt.

 

[al-Hasani]

I am very impressed by the work Sultan is doing. Long may it continue. So much potential. KSA is already the 15th most visited country on earth and if everything goes according to the plan in terms of investments on the tourism sector, changes of law then a top 10 position is going to be a reality in the very near future. From then on only the sky is the limit.

 

[al-Hasani]

Some amazing footage from the Red Sea that has the second biggest coral reefs in the world after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

 

[al-Hasani]

Domestic tourists spent over SR28 billion in 2013​

PRIME ATTRACTION: Amusement parks are a big attraction for families spending their vacations inside the Kingdom.​

RIYADH: RASHID HASSAN

Published — Saturday 26 July 2014

Last update 26 July 2014 5:03 am

Domestic tourist spending reached more than SR28 billion last year, according to MAS, the statistical arm of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA).
More than 23,000 domestic tourism trips were made in 2013 according to MAS, said Majed Al-Sheddi, director-general of information and partnership relations and official SCTA spokesman.
Al-Sheddi scotched rumors circulating in newspapers that said that around 14 million foreign tourists visited the Kingdom in a single year.
“This figure, quoted by Hamad Al-Sheikh, vice president of SCTA for marketing and programs, during the tourism information evening refers to the number of pilgrims who entered the Kingdom on Haj and Umrah visas, including pilgrims who come on short visit visas,” he said.
Others visitors come to the Kingdom for work or to attend conferences or exhibitions or for visiting relatives and the like, he added.
The SCTA has maintained that all its activities and programs are solely devoted to domestic tourists and that such a campaign has yet to include foreign tourists in its target audience.
“The SCTA persistently seeks to meet domestic tourist aspirations and provide visitors with a highly integrated tourism experience in a manner that suits the Kingdom’s status and name and displays its level of progress,” he said.
“Moreover, thousands of expatriates of different nationalities themselves constitute an important tourism market,” Al-Sheddi said.

Domestic tourists spent over SR28 billion in 2013 | Arab News — Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more.

UNWTO lauds Saudi law to protect heritage

RIYADH: RASHID HASSAN

Published — Thursday 31 July 2014

Last update 31 July 2014 12:04 am

The United Nation’s World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has applauded Saudi Arabia’s new monuments system, a legislation aimed at protecting national heritage and antiquities.
The Kingdom recently joined the selected league of countries to set up a system for the monuments and became one of the first Arab countries to set up a monuments system.
Welcoming the Kingdom’s new legislation to protect antiquities and heritage as well as to give the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) the mandate to ensure its preservation, UNWTO in a statement said: “Heritage conservation is fundamental to safeguard cultural legacy and promote and preserve key tourism assets, which are central to differentiating destinations all around the world.”
Applauding the issuance of the new system of monuments, museums and architectural heritage, which was issued by the Saudi Council of Ministers recently, Taleb Rifai, UNWTO secretary general, congratulated the Kingdom for adopting legal mechanisms for the protection of its historical sites and contributing to ensure that tourism and culture continue to develop for the benefit of both.
“Cultural tourism — the movement of travelers motivated by the mosaic of art forms, heritage sites, festivals, traditions, and pilgrimages — is growing at an unprecedented rate. These are positives as the nexus between culture and tourism translates into important income generation for destinations but also for conservation,” he said.
“Nonetheless, such growth needs to be managed in a responsible and sustainable manner through adequate public policies and legislation,” he added.
Notably, this legislation on antiquities and national heritage coincided with the recent inclusion of the Jeddah historic area in the UNESCO world heritage site list, recognizing the old city’s cultural value and unique model with its distinguished urban heritage.
According to SCTA, the new monuments system will enhance protection of national heritage sites as resources for economic benefit and equally important in light of the evolution of interest and increased care of urban heritage of the Kingdom, whether architectural heritage or museums, to develop a system of monuments and primarily focus on the importance of awareness of monuments.
This system has been successfully applied in the past with the ministry of petroleum and did not affect in any way the ongoing developmental work.
SCTA has developed mechanisms that enable them to respond to this system, all of which is to protect national heritage and it is going to work with the ministries of transport and municipal affairs, petroleum and agriculture.

UNWTO lauds Saudi law to protect heritage | Arab News — Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more.

 

[al-Hasani]

Rub' al-Khali​

Youngsters venturing in:

The Arabian Peninsula 4000 BC:

Ancient 6,000 year old, Empty Quarter lake bed, seen from 24,000 feet, Google Earth image.

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Amazing video below:

I became captivated by Arabia's Empty Quarter as a young man when I read Wilfred Thesiger's Arabian Sands. The Empty Quarter is larger than France without a single permanent point of water or human habitation. It's both the world's largest sand sea and one of the hottest places on earth, and has only been traversed a handful of times. I didn't want to repeat Thesiger's epic journeys many decades later, but when I discovered motorized paragliding I found a way to visualize this remote landscape in a new way. I made three paragliding trips into the sands, first for GEO in Saudi Arabia, and then returned two years later to go from Riyadh to Oman and Yemen for National Geographic, and finally made a personal trip to the southern most reaches of the U.A.E. to complete my field work. What I found was one of the most beautiful and unseen wilderness on earth. On its fringes I encountered elements the oil wealth that has forever changed Arabia, but I also found Bedouins still clinging to traditions, and offering up a level of hospitality that was truly humbling. This body of work would simply not have been possible without their kindness.

Empty Quarter is George's second book, published by Harry N. Abrams. This is the most extensive compilation of photographs ever taken in the Arabian Desert. Measuring 9.5 x 13 inches, the book has 208 pages with 150 color photos and captions.

George Steinmetz Aerial Photography​

Simply amazing. I wish that I could post some of his photos from that book (apparently containing over 150 high quality photos) here that I have not seen and the photos on his homepage have copyright unfortunately.

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In other news:

Google Earth Reveals Thousands of Tombs in Saudi Desert | Saudi Archaeology & Tombs

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Saudi Arabia began setting aside land for protection of natural habitats, flora, and/or fauna in 1978. Currently, the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation & Development (NCWCD) manages 15 protected areas, which encompass 85,557 square kilometers (33,033 square miles).

These areas are:

• Harrat al Harrah Reserve - Located in the north-central part of the Kingdom
• Al Khunfah Reserve - Located in the northwest part of the Kingdom
• Ibex Reserve - Located in the central part of the Kingdom, about 200 km (124 miles) south of Riyadh
• Mahazat as-Sayd Reserve - This totally fenced-in reserve is located in western part of the Kingdom, approximately 150 km (93 miles) east of Taif, and adjacent to the Saja Um Al Rimth Reserve
• Umm al Qamari Island Reserve - Located in the Red Sea off Al Qunfudah, which is located south of Jeddah and north of Jizan, approximately halfway between the two cities
• Al Tubayq Reserve - Located northeast of Tabuk, in the northern part of the Kingdom, along the Syrian border
• Farasan Islands Reserve - Located in the Red Sea, 40 km (25 miles) off the city of Jizan, along the southwestern coast of Saudi Arabia
• Raydah Reserve - This small, 9-square-kilometer (3.4-square-mile) park is located adjacent to the Asir Mountains National Park a short distance outside of the coastal city of Jizan, in southwestern Saudi Arabia
• Majami'al-Hadb Reserve - Located in the plains of the south-central part of the Kingdom
• 'Uruq Bani Ma'arid Reserve - Located on the western edge of the Empty Quarter (Rub' al Khali)
• Nafud al-'Urayq Reserve - Located in the central part of the Kingdom, northwest of Riyadh
• At-Taysiyah Reserve - Located on the Summan Plateau of northeastern Saudi Arabia, south of the border with Iraq
• Al Jandaliyah Reserve - Located in the northeastern part of the Kingdom, somewhat southeast of the At-Taysiyah Reserve
• Saja Um Al Rimth Reserve - Located in western part of the Kingdom, approximately 150 km (93 miles) east of Taif, and adjacent to the Mahazat as-Sayd Reserve
• Jabal Shadah Reserve - Located south of Taif, near the National Wildlife Research Center, on the outer edge of the Sarawat Escarpment in the Tihamah foothills
• Jubail Reserve - This coastal/marine reserve is located on the Arabian Gulf, outside of the city of Jubail

The NCWCD has plans to recommend over 100 sites for protection.

Wildlife in Saudi Arabia

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Lastly gentlemen do yourself a favor and spent 10-15 minutes reading this very interesting article below:

Cooling a planet with Revegetation
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@Arabian Legend @JUBA @Bubblegum Crisis @Yzd Khalifa @Full Moon @Hadbani @Mosamania @Tihamah @BLACKEAGLE @Awadd @Altamimi @Rakan.SA @Halimi @ebray etc.

 

[al-Hasani]

14m tourists visited last year​

RIYADH: ARAB NEWS

Published — Monday 21 July 2014

Last update 21 July 2014 12:59 am

More than 14 million foreigners visited the Kingdom last year, of whom half came to perform religious rituals and others came for business, family visits and tourism, said Hamad Al-Sheikh, vice president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA).
Al-Sheikh made the statement during a tourism media event recently held at the Riyadh Palace Hotel. The event was attended by numerous senior government officials, investors in the sector, airline company executives, media experts and Turkey’s cultural and tourism attaché.
The meeting discussed several issues concerning tourism media and ways to promote this vital industry.
Participants applauded the size and volume of media content in the tourism field, but argued that the means and models used to publish such information would be more effective using modern technology.
This includes creative photography, film-making and video clips, they said.
Participants also suggested making use of money made from pilgrims to support local tourism programs and highlighted the necessity of transforming Jeddah’s airport into a tourist-friendly facility.
The evening announced the launch of an initiative that has Saudi media personalities specialized in the tourism and travel sector on its panel.
The team is a voluntary group that will work to serve and promote domestic tourism.
The group will also disseminate a sense of tourism culture, raise awareness among tourists, work on the issue of tourism guidance and publish the concept of tourism media by adopting training programs and outreach campaigns.
Mohammad Al-Abul Karim, head of the up and coming Saudi tourist center and head of the team, said that the yearly event aims to unify forces for enhancing much-needed tourism awareness among residents.
Al-Abul Karim thanked the Riyadh Palace Hotel for hosting the evening and Flynas for their support for the event.

14m tourists visited last year | Arab News — Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more.

All that without a real tourism sector and already being the 15th most visited country on earth. Imagine what it could become once that happens? Endless opportunities.

World Tourism Organization UNWTO | Committed to Tourism, Travel and the Millennium Development Goals

Tourism in Saudi Arabia: Wish you were here | The Economist

 

[VCheng]

Youngsters venturing in:

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Is this Saudi Arabia? Where are the Morality Police? Is this approved?

 

[al-Hasani]

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Is this Saudi Arabia? Where are the Morality Police? Is this approved?

Firstly this is not the appropriate thread for such discussions or questions. Secondly, yes those are Saudi Arabians. If you are interested in more details or a longer discussion even then please post such questions in the "Arabic Coffee Shop" thread on the Arab section of PDF.

Also quite frankly then I do not understand how come you choose to focus on this of all that interesting information in my post with all due respect.

Please delete your post, thanks. I am not trying to act rude and will gladly answer your questions but this is just not the thread for it and besides I do not want my thread to be destroyed by trolling as such discussions/topics will attract them from experience.

P.S:

The so-called "morality police" is only found in mostly Riyadh and a few other major cities in smaller amounts. Their jurisdiction is not big to begin with. Obviously they will not be found in isolated places at all let alone Rub' al-Khali.

@Chak Bamu

Info centers to help tourists

INNOVATIVE: A tourism information machine, which would operate at tourism information centers and various public places around the country. (AN photo)​

RIYADH: RASHID HASSAN

Published — Saturday 5 July 2014

Last update 5 July 2014 12:50 am

The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) has signed a SR11.9 million contract to set up tourist information centers across the country that provide information on domestic events.
Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the SCTA, signed the contract with a company for three years to manage the project.
Hamad bin Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, SCTA vice president for marketing and programs, said Thursday the centers would provide information on tourism destinations, sites and activities.
It aims to set up 21 such centers in the next three years. Earlier, the SCTA established five centers at local airports that operate 16 hours a day.
It also plans to set up 340 electronic information machines connected to the Internet that can provide information on tourism services.
The plan includes creating jobs for Saudis to operate and maintain these centers and machines at various public areas including airports, tourist accommodation, marketplaces and parks.
The SCTA has developed an Internet portal providing up-to-date tourism information including flight-booking services, hotel reservations, and a 24-hour communications and complaints service through the toll-free number 19988

Info centers to help tourists | Arab News — Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more.

 

[VCheng]

Firstly this is not the appropriate thread for such discussions or questions. Secondly, yes those are Saudi Arabians. If you are interested in more details or a longer discussion even then please post such questions in the "Arabic Coffee Shop" thread on the Arab section of PDF.
Also quite frankly then I do not understand how come you choose to focus on this of all that interesting information in my post with all due respect.
Please delete your post, thanks. I am not trying to act rude and will gladly answer your questions but this is just not the thread for it and besides I do not want my thread to be destroyed by trolling as such discussions/topics will attract them from experience.

I am enjoying this thread immensely, but my question is related directly to the image posted because for Saudi Arabia to become a tourist destination, it must learn to adopt the same standards that other nations employ for its visitors. But SA is known to be extremely conservative in dresses and mixing of couples. That is why I asked if that photo showing mixed couples in such dresses had the approval of the Morality Police.

If things are indeed changing in SA, then the tourist industry will flourish. That is why my question belongs here, I think, no disrespect intended.

 

[al-Hasani]

I am enjoying this thread immensely, but my question is related directly to the image posted because for Saudi Arabia to become a tourist destination, it must learn to adopt the same standards that other nations employ for its visitors. But SA is known to be extremely conservative in dresses and mixing of couples. That is why I asked if that photo showing mixed couples in such dresses had the approval of the Morality Police.

If things are indeed changing in SA, then the tourist industry will flourish. That is why my question belongs here, I think, no disrespect intended.

Fair enough. I appreciate that your intentions are good or at least honest.

The so-called "morality police" is only found in mostly Riyadh and a few other major cities in smaller amounts. Their jurisdiction is not big to begin with. Obviously they will not be found in isolated places at all let alone Rub' al-Khali.

Regarding the aspect of culture vis-a-vis tourism then obviously KSA is not fully ready for commercial tourism (from across the world) in a large scale YET. It's a ongoing process were the infrastructure, the changing of certain laws and education to people dealing with tourism will have to take place. I have touched on some of those issues in this very thread if you take a closer look.

KSA is not what you imagine at all nor the people or how it is in reality. In fact I would say that the GCC as a whole is the most Western-orientated population in the Muslim world and the most modern in terms of fashion, equipment etc. Mostly due to being very wealthy and stable. Yet of course conservatism is still big in many regions which I see nothing wrong with anyway.

KSA and the Arabian Peninsula as a whole has always been a place of contradiction since antiquity. Be it landscapes, climate, culture etc.

Anyway feel free to ask more questions about KSA and I will happily try to answer them to the best of my abilities but just in another thread otherwise we will go completely off-topic in this thread which would be a shame.

Thanks.

 

[VCheng]

Fair enough. I appreciate that your intentions are good or at least honest.

The so-called "morality police" is only found in mostly Riyadh and a few other major cities in smaller amounts. Their jurisdiction is not big to begin with. Obviously they will not be found in isolated places at all let alone Rub' al-Khali.

Regarding the aspect of culture vis-a-vis tourism then obviously KSA is not fully ready for commercial tourism (from across the world) in a large scale YET. It's a ongoing process were the infrastructure, the changing of certain laws and education to people dealing with tourism will have to take place. I have touched on some of those issues in this very thread if you take a closer look.

KSA is not what you imagine at all nor the people or how it is in reality. In fact I would say that the GCC as a whole is the most Western-orientated population in the Muslim world and the most modern in terms of fashion, equipment etc. Mostly due to being very wealthy and stable. Yet of course conservatism is still big in many regions which I see nothing wrong with anyway.

KSA and the Arabian Peninsula as a whole has always been a place of contradiction since antiquity. Be it landscapes, climate, culture etc.

Anyway feel free to ask more questions about KSA and I will happily try to answer them to the best of my abilities but just in another thread otherwise we will go completely off-topic in this thread which would be a shame.

Thanks.

Thank you for the great reply. I am pleasantly surprised, to be honest, but gratified too that Saudi Arabia is finally opening up its beautiful people, history and culture to the outside world. I can only wish you all a great success in this effort, and I look forward to visiting the country again, after a long time.