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Saudi Arabia scraps hotel licence fees in bid to boost tourism

September 4, 2024 at 3:59 pm

Tourists in outdoor seating at the Harrat Viewpoint in AlUla, Saudi Arabia, on 22 January, 2023 [Jeremy Suyker/Bloomberg via Getty Images]

Saudi Arabia decided today to cancel fees for issuing commercial activity licences for hotels, hotel apartments and residential resorts in the kingdom, state news agency SPA has reported.

The decision is effective immediately. It is part of the Tourism Investment Enabler Programme that Saudi Arabia launched in March, aimed at making the kingdom a global tourism powerhouse in line with the goals of the Saudi regime’s Vision 2030.

The SPA added that the initiative would encourage investors to put more money into the tourism sector, which would increase the industry’s contribution to gross domestic product.

Vision 2030 plans to modernise the Gulf Arab state and reduce its dependence on oil export revenues. More than $800 billion has been invested to diversify the economy.

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