Earlier this year, Saudi Arabians gained temporary access to Albania as the country’s Ambassador to the Kingdom Sami Shiba announced that Saudis only needed a passport to travel to the Balkan country, known for its rich history, diverse landscape, stunning castles, and archaeological sites, from April until October. This month, Saudis have gained a more long-term travel destination as South Africa opens its doors to citizens from the Kingdom.
According to Arab News, Saudis will now be able to travel to South Africa without a visa starting August 15. Along with the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom was recently added to the list of countries whose citizens don’t need a visa to visit the diverse nation and highly popular tourist destination. As reported by the news site, once the agreement takes effect, Saudi nationals will be able to visit South Africa for 90 days for tourism and business.
Saudi Arabians can currently travel to over 60 countries around the world without a visa, to countries such as Bolivia, Cambodia, Ecuador, Lebanon, Madagascar, New Zealand, and South Korea. In addition, the Kingdom has been working to open its doors to visitors from all over the globe, offering tourist visas for specific events, and developing its tourism sector beyond its current structure, which has been designed to cater all-year-round to religious pilgrims.
Its various recent efforts are part of the Kingdom’s ongoing efforts to bring in more tourists and is seen as an important step towards realizing the objectives of its Vision 2030 national plan, which aim at diversifying its oil-dependent economy, modernizing its society, and providing diverse work opportunities for its youth.
