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UN Tourism Applauds Saudi Arabia's Historic Milestone of 100 Million Tourists

• All Regions
• 26 Feb 2024

In a testament to its strategic vision and robust sector growth, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has welcomed over 100 million tourists, marking a significant milestone in its journey to become a global tourism powerhouse.

In an exceptional achievement, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has welcomed over 100 million tourists , a milestone celebrated by the World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism). This remarkable accomplishment achieved seven years ahead of its original schedule, not only underscores Saudi Arabia's emergence as a global tourism powerhouse but also highlights its leading role in the economic diversification and sustainable development of the tourism sector worldwide. This milestone, marked by the arrival of over 27 million international tourists and over 79 million domestic tourists with a combined total spend of over USD 67 billion, not only showcases the Kingdom's robust tourism sector but also underscores the Saudi Ministry of Tourism's commitment to advanced data gathering and statistical analysis, a priority echoed by UN Tourism.

The Kingdom's success story is built on a foundation of strategic initiatives and reforms that have propelled its tourism sector to new heights. With a staggering 390% increase in demand for tourism activity licenses in 2023 and the contribution of tourism to the non-oil GVA estimated to exceed 7%, Saudi Arabia's vision for the future is clear. With the tourism sector's direct contribution to the GDP estimated to exceed  4 %, the country has showcased its resilience, innovation, and commitment to excellence.

Strategic Partnerships and Global Leadership

UN Tourism has closely collaborated with Saudi Arabia, recognizing its efforts in developing a robust tourism infrastructure and statistical analysis capabilities. The inauguration of UN Tourism's Regional Office for the Middle East in Riyadh in 2021 marked a significant step towards fostering tourism innovation, education, and rural development. This partnership has been instrumental in positioning Saudi Arabia as a leader in sustainable tourism practices and statistical excellence.

Elevating its global position in the tourism sector, Saudi Arabia has distinguished itself by leading the G20 in international tourist growth rate in 2023 compared to 2019. This recognition underlines the Kingdom's pivotal role in the global tourism sector's recovery following the pandemic. Moreover, the Middle East has emerged as the sole region not only to rebound but also to outpace pre-pandemic tourism levels , with a 122 percent recovery in international tourist arrivals in 2023 compared to 2019. At the forefront of this remarkable growth, Saudi Arabia witnessed a staggering 156 percent recovery in international tourist arrivals compared to 2019, underscoring its central role in the region's tourism boom.

A Testament to Resilience and Innovation

The Kingdom's tourism sector has shown remarkable resilience, with inbound spending reaching over USD 37 billion in 2023 and a significant increase in hotel keys across the kingdom. These achievements are a testament to Saudi Arabia's commitment to creating a prosperous and sustainable tourism sector.

Empowering the Workforce

The employment opportunities created by the tourism sector are a cornerstone of Saudi Arabia's success. As of 2023, with 925.5 thousand jobs in the tourism sector and significant investments in training, the Kingdom is on track to make tourism the second-largest employer by 2030. This focus on workforce development ensures that the benefits of tourism growth are shared widely and sustainably.

Gratitude and Future Vision

UN Tourism extends its congratulations to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for this historic achievement. We commend the leadership, the Ministry of Tourism, and all partners for their unwavering support and dedication. As Saudi Arabia continues to drive towards its goal of 150 million tourists by 2030, UN Tourism looks forward to supporting its journey, celebrating its successes, and promoting a more resilient, sustainable, and inclusive future for global tourism.

Saudi Arabia's achievement of welcoming over 100 million tourists in 2023 is a beacon of what is possible through collaboration, innovation, and a clear vision for the future. The Kingdom not only promises a diverse and rich tourism experience but delivers on that promise, paving the way for a brighter future for the global tourism industry.

Related links:

• Download the News Release on PDF
• International Tourism to Reach Pre-Pandemic Levels in 2024

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Saudi’s tourism ministry appoints Gloria Guevera Manzo as chief special advisor

• Saudi Arabia

Manzo was most recently the CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC)

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Tourism has appointed Gloria Guevera Manzo to the post of chief special advisor to Ahmed Al Khateeb, the Minister of Tourism.

Manzo was most recently the CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).

As a special advisor to the Minister of Tourism, Gloria will leverage more than 25 years of tourism sector experience to help facilitate international collaborations, develop human capital and contribute to the delivery of the kingdom’s tourism investments under Vision 2030, a statement said.

Ahmed Al Khateeb said: “Saudi Arabia’s tourism industry has incredible potential and is already supporting economic growth and job creation across the kingdom.

“We have a strong national heritage and thousands of unique stories to be told. Gloria brings international expertise and a tremendous global network from her time representing the global tourism and travel sector as the CEO of WTTC and direct experience with evolving a nascent tourism industry from her time as Secretary of Tourism in Mexico, that will help us as our large-scale investment in tourism moves to the next level.”

“Tourism is the most promising sector in Saudi Arabia; this has been evident since 2019 when the kingdom first opened for international visitors,” said Gloria Guevara Manzo.

“In 2020, the Saudi leadership has done an incredible job managing the Covid-19 crisis and building its domestic tourism while continuing to advocate for global industry alignment and the recovery, and I am confident that my many years of expertise can help accelerate the next phase of development,” she continued.

“Over 50 per cent of the global travel and tourism workforce is female and Saudi Arabia is rapidly scaling up the inclusion of women, so I also hope my appointment will serve to empower more Saudi women to pursue careers in tourism, aspire towards leadership positions, and fulfil Vision 2030’s female empowerment goals,” she added.

Saudi Arabia has achieved progress, playing a key role in the revival of the tourism sector after the pandemic through its G20 presidency, which achieved a joint pledge from participating nations to collaborate on developing sustainable, authentic tourism experiences; issuing more than 400,000 tourism visas in the first six months since the launch of its new tourist visa system in September 2019 and launching a SAR400bn tourism fund and a SAR2bn Tourism Partners programme, the statement added.

The Ministry of Tourism is spearheading the sector’s development towards the Vision 2030 goals of increasing tourism’s contribution to GDP from 3 per cent to more than 10 per cent, creating an additional one million jobs for Saudi nationals and increasing visitor numbers to 100 million by 2030.

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3 new countries eligible for Saudi Arabia's e-Visa

Posted by Kerry Baggott on 13 May 2024

Citizens of Barbados, Bahamas and Grenada can now apply for Saudi's electronic visa programme

As part of its efforts to boost tourism, Saudi Arabia has broadened its list of countries whose nationals are able to apply for visit visas electronically or upon arrival at one of the kingdom’s international ports.

The addition of Barbados, the Commonwealth of Bahamas and Grenada sees the total number of eligible countries increase to 66.

People from these countries can now apply online or on arrival for a visa to visit Saudi for the purposes of business and leisure tourism, and to perform Umrah.

In addition to these new countries, the e-visa is already available to residents of the US, UK and EU. Residents of GCC countries are also eligible.

RELATED: Almosafer and Red Sea Global partner to promote luxury tourism in Saudi  Almosafer report unveils Saudi Arabia's travel trends Accor outlines plans for Saudi expansion

The move by the Ministry of Tourism aims to enhance Saudi Arabia’s global connectivity, stimulate economic diversification and help achieve the tourism goals of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan for national development and diversification.

As part of that Vision, the goal is to increase the tourism industry’s contribution to GDP beyond 10% and create one million jobs.

According to figures released in February 2024, Saudi Arabia drew 27 million foreign tourists in 2023. Authorities are looking to see that figure hit 70 million by 2030.

For more information, visit  www.visitsaudi.com    

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‘To the Future’: Saudi Arabia Spends Big to Become an A.I. Superpower

The oil-rich kingdom is plowing money into glitzy events, computing power and artificial intelligence research, putting it in the middle of an escalating U.S.-China struggle for technological influence.

More than 200,000 people converged on the Leap tech conference in the desert outside Riyadh in March. Credit... Iman Al-Dabbagh for The New York Times

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By Adam Satariano and Paul Mozur

Adam Satariano reported from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Paul Mozur from Taipei, Taiwan.

• Published April 25, 2024 Updated April 26, 2024

On a Monday morning last month, tech executives, engineers and sales representatives from Amazon, Google, TikTok and other companies endured a three-hour traffic jam as their cars crawled toward a mammoth conference at an event space in the desert, 50 miles outside Riyadh.

The lure: billions of dollars in Saudi money as the kingdom seeks to build a tech industry to complement its oil dominance.

To bypass the congestion, frustrated eventgoers drove onto the highway shoulder, kicking up plumes of desert sand as they sped past those following traffic rules. A lucky few took advantage of a special freeway exit dedicated to “V.V.I.P.s” — very, very important people.

“To the Future,” a sign read on the approach to the event, called Leap.

More than 200,000 people converged at the conference, including Adam Selipsky, chief executive of Amazon’s cloud computing division, who announced a $5.3 billion investment in Saudi Arabia for data centers and artificial intelligence technology. Arvind Krishna, the chief executive of IBM, spoke of what a government minister called a “lifetime friendship” with the kingdom. Executives from Huawei and dozens of other firms made speeches. More than $10 billion in deals were done there, according to Saudi Arabia’s state press agency.

“This is a great country,” Shou Chew, TikTok’s chief executive, said during the conference, heralding the video app’s growth in the kingdom. “We expect to invest even more.”

• Shou Chew, TikTok’s chief executive, promoted the video app’s growth in Saudi Arabia during the Leap conference. Iman Al-Dabbagh for The New York Times
• One of the booths at the Leap conference, which was attended by executives from Google, Amazon, TikTok and others. Iman Al-Dabbagh for The New York Times
• A robotic dog walking through the Leap conference. Iman Al-Dabbagh for The New York Times

Everybody in tech seems to want to make friends with Saudi Arabia right now as the kingdom has trained its sights on becoming a dominant player in A.I. — and is pumping in eye-popping sums to do so.

Saudi Arabia created a $100 billion fund this year to invest in A.I. and other technology. It is in talks with Andreessen Horowitz, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm, and other investors to put an additional $40 billion into A.I. companies. In March, the government said it would invest $1 billion in a Silicon Valley-inspired start-up accelerator to lure A.I. entrepreneurs to the kingdom. The initiatives easily dwarf those of most major nation-state investments, like Britain’s $100 million pledge for the Alan Turing Institute.

The spending blitz stems from a generational effort outlined in 2016 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and known as “Vision 2030.” Saudi Arabia is racing to diversify its oil-rich economy in areas like tech, tourism, culture and sports — investing a reported $200 million a year for the soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and planning a 100-mile-long mirrored skyscraper in the desert.

For the tech industry, Saudi Arabia has long been a funding spigot. But the kingdom is now redirecting its oil wealth into building a domestic tech industry, requiring international firms to establish roots there if they want its money.

If Prince Mohammed succeeds, he will place Saudi Arabia in the middle of an escalating global competition among China, the United States and other countries like France that have made breakthroughs in generative A.I. Combined with A.I. efforts by its neighbor, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia’s plan has the potential to create a new power center in the global tech industry.

“I hereby invite all dreamers, innovators, investors and thinkers to join us, here in the kingdom, to achieve our ambitions together,” Prince Mohammed remarked in a 2020 speech about A.I.

His ambitions are geopolitically delicate as China and the United States seek to carve out spheres of influence over A.I. to shape the future of critical technologies.

In Washington, many worry that the kingdom’s goals and authoritarian leanings could work against U.S. interests — for instance, if Saudi Arabia ends up providing computing power to Chinese researchers and companies. This month, the White House brokered a deal for Microsoft to invest in G42, an A.I. company in the Emirates, which was intended partly to diminish China’s influence.

For China, the Persian Gulf region offers a big market, access to deep-pocketed investors and a chance to wield influence in countries traditionally allied with the United States. China’s form of A.I.-powered surveillance has already been embedded into policing in the region .

Some industry leaders have begun to arrive. Jürgen Schmidhuber, an A.I. pioneer who now heads an A.I. program at Saudi Arabia’s premier research university, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, recalled the kingdom’s roots centuries ago as a center for science and mathematics.

“It would be lovely to contribute to a new world and resurrect this golden age,” he said. “Yes, it will cost money, but there’s a lot of money in this country.”

The willingness to spend was front and center last month at a gala in Riyadh hosted by the Saudi government, which coincided with the Leap conference. Hollywood klieg lights blazed in the sky above the city as guests arrived in chauffeured Maseratis, Mercedes-Benzes and Porsches. Inside a 300,000-square-foot parking garage that had been converted two years ago into one of the world’s largest start-up spaces, attendees mingled, debated opening offices in Riyadh and sipped pomegranate juice and cardamom-flavored coffee.

“There’s something happening here,” said Hilmar Veigar Petursson, the chief executive of CCP Games, the Icelandic company behind the popular game Eve Online, who was at the gala. “I got a very similar sense when I came back from China in 2005.”

A Sci-Fi Script

Prince Mohammed’s Vision 2030 project, unveiled eight years ago, seems taken from a science-fiction script.

Under the plan, new futuristic cities will be built in the desert along the Red Sea, oriented around tech and digital services. And the kingdom, which has piled billions into tech start-ups like Uber and investment vehicles such as SoftBank’s Vision Fund, would spend more.

That drew Silicon Valley’s attention. When Prince Mohammed visited California in 2018, Sergey Brin, Google’s co-founder, escorted him through a tree-lined path at the company’s campus. Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, showed him the company’s products. The prince also traveled to Seattle, where he met with Bill Gates of Microsoft; Satya Nadella, the company’s chief executive; and Jeff Bezos of Amazon.

It was a key moment for Saudi Arabia’s tech ambitions as Prince Mohammed presented himself as a youthful, digitally savvy reformer. But enthusiasm dimmed a few months later when Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and critic of the crown prince, was killed at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Prince Mohammed denied involvement, but the C.I.A. concluded that he had approved the killing .

For a brief period, it was seen as untoward to associate with Saudi Arabia. Business executives canceled visits to the kingdom. But the lure of its money was ultimately too strong.

A.I. development depends on two key things that Saudi Arabia has in abundance: money and energy. The kingdom is pouring oil profits into buying semiconductors, building supercomputers, attracting talent and constructing data centers powered by its plentiful electricity. The bet is that Saudi Arabia will eventually export A.I. computing muscle.

Majid Ali AlShehry, the general manager of studies for the Saudi Data and A.I. Authority, a government agency overseeing A.I. initiatives, said 70 percent of the 96 strategic goals outlined in Vision 2030 involved using data and A.I.

“We see A.I. as one of the main enablers of all sectors,” he said in an interview at the agency’s office in Riyadh, where employees nearby worked on an Arabic chatbot called Allam.

Those goals have permeated the kingdom. Posters for Vision 2030 are visible throughout Riyadh. Young Saudis describe the crown prince as running the kingdom as if it were a start-up. Many tech leaders have parroted the sentiment.

“Saudi has a founder,” Ben Horowitz, a founder of Andreessen Horowitz, said last year at a conference in Miami. “You don’t call him a founder. You call him his royal highness.”

Some question whether Saudi Arabia can become a global tech hub. The kingdom has faced scrutiny for its human rights record, intolerance to homosexuality and brutal heat. But for those in the tech world who descended on Riyadh last month, the concerns seemed secondary to the dizzying amount of deal-making underway.

“They are just pouring money into A.I.,” said Peter Lillian, an engineer at Groq, a U.S. maker of semiconductors that power A.I. systems. Groq is working with Neom, a futuristic city that Saudi Arabia is building in the desert, and Aramco, the state oil giant. “We’re doing so many deals,” he said.

Torn Between Superpowers

Situated along the Red Sea’s turquoise waters, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology has become a site of the U.S.-Chinese technological showdown.

The university, known as KAUST, is central to Saudi Arabia’s plans to vault to A.I. leadership. Modeled on universities like Caltech, KAUST has brought in foreign A.I. leaders and provided computing resources to build an epicenter for A.I. research.

To achieve that aim, KAUST has often turned to China to recruit students and professors and to strike research partnerships , alarming American officials. They fear students and professors from Chinese military-linked universities will use KAUST to sidestep U.S. sanctions and boost China in the race for A.I. supremacy , analysts and U.S. officials said.

Of particular concern is the university’s construction of one of the region’s fastest supercomputers, which needs thousands of microchips made by Nvidia, the biggest maker of precious chips that power A.I. systems. The university’s chip order, with an estimated value of more than $100 million, is being held up by a review from the U.S. government, which must provide an export license before the sale can go through.

Both China and the United States want to keep Prince Mohammed close. A.I. ambitions add a new layer of geopolitical significance to a kingdom already key to Middle East policy and global energy supplies. A 2016 visit to Saudi Arabia by Xi Jinping, China’s leader, paved the way for new tech cooperation. Accustomed to top-down industrial policy, Chinese companies have expanded rapidly in the kingdom, forming partnerships with major state-owned companies. The United States has pushed Saudi Arabia to pick a side, but Prince Mohammed seems content to benefit from both nations.

Mr. Schmidhuber, the researcher leading KAUST’s A.I. efforts, has seen the jostling up close. Considered a pioneer of modern A.I. — students in a lab he led included a founder of DeepMind, an innovative A.I. company now owned by Google — he was lured to the desert in 2021.

He was reluctant to move at first, he said, but university officials, via a headhunter, “tried to make it more attractive and even more attractive and even more attractive for me.”

Now Mr. Schmidhuber is awaiting the completion of the supercomputer, Shaheen 3, which is a chance to attract more top talent to the Persian Gulf and to give researchers access to computing power often reserved for major companies.

“No other university is going to have a similar thing,” he said.

Some in Washington fear the supercomputer may provide researchers from Chinese universities access to cutting-edge computing resources they would not have in China. More than a dozen students and staff members at KAUST are from military-linked Chinese universities known as the Seven Sons of National Defense, according to a review by The New York Times. During the Trump administration, the United States blocked entry to students from those universities over concerns they could take sensitive technologies back to China’s military.

“The United States should quickly move to deny export licenses to any entity if the end user is likely to be a P.R.C. actor affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army,” Representative Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin, said in a statement.

A senior White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the default U.S. policy was to share technology with Saudi Arabia, a critical ally in the gulf, but that there were national security concerns and risks with A.I.

The Commerce Department declined to comment. In a statement, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “We hope that relevant countries will work with China to resist coercion, jointly safeguard a fair and open international economic and trade order, and safeguard their own long-term interests.”

A KAUST spokeswoman said, “We will strictly comply with all U.S. export license terms and conditions for the full life cycle of Shaheen 3.”

Mr. Schmidhuber said the Saudi government was ultimately aligned with the United States. Just as U.S. technology helped create Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, it will play a critical role in A.I. development.

“Nobody wants to jeopardize that,” he said.

The Gold Rush

Aladin Ben, a German Tunisian A.I. entrepreneur, was in Bali last year when he received an email from a Saudi agency working on A.I. issues. The agency knew his software start-up, Memorality, which designs tools to make it easier for businesses to incorporate A.I., and wanted to work together.

Since then, Mr. Ben, 31, has traveled to Saudi Arabia five times. He is now negotiating with the kingdom on an investment and other partnerships. But his company may need to incorporate in Saudi Arabia to get the full benefit of the government’s offer, which includes buying hundreds of annual subscriptions to his software in a contract worth roughly $800,000 a month.

“If you want a serious deal, you need to be here,” Mr. Ben said in an interview in Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia was once viewed as a source of few-strings-attached cash. Now it has added conditions to its deals, requiring many companies to establish roots in the kingdom to partake in the financial windfall.

That was evident at GAIA, an A.I. start-up accelerator, for which Saudi officials announced $1 billion in funding last month.

Each start-up in the program receives a grant worth about $40,000 in exchange for spending at least three months in Riyadh, along with a potential $100,000 investment. Entrepreneurs are required to register their company in the kingdom and spend 50 percent of their investment in Saudi Arabia. They also receive access to computing power purchased from Amazon and Google free of charge.

About 50 start-ups — including from Taiwan, South Korea, Sweden, Poland and the United States — have gone through GAIA’s program since it started last year.

“We want to attract talent, and we want them to stay,” said Mohammed Almazyad, a program manager for GAIA. “We used to rely heavily on oil, and now we want to diversify.”

One of the biggest enticements for A.I. start-ups is the chance to make the deep-pocketed Saudi government a customer. In one recent meeting, Abdullah Alswaha, a senior minister for communications and information technology, asked GAIA’s start-ups to suggest what they could provide for the Saudi government, including for megacity projects like Neom . Afterward, many of the companies received messages introducing them to state-owned businesses, Mr. Almazyad said.

“I would say this process at the first stages is not organic,” he said. “You don’t find this in Silicon Valley. Eventually the process will be organic.”

Deciding to set up in Riyadh comes with challenges. There’s the heat, reaching more than 110 degrees in the summer, as well as the adjustments of moving to a deeply religious Muslim kingdom. While Saudi Arabia has loosened some restrictions in recent years, freedom of speech remains limited and L.G.B.T.Q. people can face criminal penalties.

Mr. Almazyad, who hopes to eventually study in the United States, said cultural differences could make it hard to recruit international A.I. talent. But he cautioned against underestimating Saudi Arabia’s resolve.

“This is just the beginning,” he said.

Adam Satariano is a technology correspondent based in Europe, where his work focuses on digital policy and the intersection of technology and world affairs. More about Adam Satariano

Paul Mozur is the global technology correspondent for The Times, based in Taipei. Previously he wrote about technology and politics in Asia from Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul. More about Paul Mozur

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Saudi Arabia expands e-visa entry permit to 3 more countries

Travel & tourism.

The e-visa permits multiple entries for a year with 90-day stays

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has broadened its electronic visa (e-visa) accessibility to include citizens from Barbados, the Bahamas, and Grenada.

As per reports from the Saudi Press Agency , citizens are now able to apply online or upon arrival, with the list of eligible countries extended to 66.

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the Ministries of Interior and Tourism, announced that nationals from these three countries can acquire a visitor visa electronically or upon arrival at any of the Kingdom's international ports.

This initiative comes within Saudi Arabia’s efforts to provide an unforgettable tourist experience for visitors coming from various parts of the world.

The initiative aligns with the Ministry of Tourism's strategy to enhance global connectivity, stimulate economic diversification, and achieve Vision 2030's tourism goals, including a 10 per cent+ GDP contribution from tourism and creating one million jobs.

Tourist visa extended 

In addition to these new countries, the tourist visa extends to residents of the US, UK, EU, and holders of visit visas from these regions.

Residents of GCC countries are also eligible, allowing for tourism, Umrah pilgrimage, visiting family, and attending events.

Furthermore, transit visas for Saudia and flynas airlines permit a 96-hour stay.

The Ministry introduced the visit visa in September 2019 to showcase Saudi Arabia's tourism offerings and promote cultural experiences.

The e-visa system will expand to include more countries as the Kingdom's tourism sector grows.

Eligible countries are: 

North america.

Bahamas, Barbados, Canada, Grenada, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, United States

Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom

Azerbaijan, Brunei, China (Including Hong Kong And Macau), Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Maldives, Singapore, South Korea, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Uzbekistan

Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa, Oceania, Australia, New Zealand

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Saudi envoy inspects makkah route facility in pakistan.

https://arab.news/cms3h

RiYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Malki conducted an inspection of the Makkah Route Initiative facility at Islamabad International Airport on Friday, accompanied by Pakistan’s Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Zulfiqar Haider, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Al-Malki underscored the commitment of the Saudi government to allocate both human and financial resources to serve all visitors to the Kingdom and said that the Makkah Route Initiative represents an extension of that commitment.

During his visit, Al-Malki observed operations at the initiative’s facility and reviewed the procedures carried out by Pakistani and Saudi authorities to facilitate and streamline the Hajj journey for the program’s beneficiaries.

The Makkah Route Initiative, a part of the Ministry of Interior’s Guests of God Service Program, aims to provide top-tier services to Hajj pilgrims from beneficiary countries to the Kingdom.

The services include issuing e-visas, biometric verification, facilitating entry procedures at departure airports, ensuring compliance with health requirements, managing baggage logistics, arranging transportation and accommodation in Makkah and Madinah, and facilitating direct transfers to designated residences.

Over 65,000 Pakistani pilgrims are set to benefit from the initiative during this year’s Hajj — a significant increase from the 26,000 last year.

Pakistan launched Hajj operations at eight airports across the country on Thursday. The operations will continue until June 9. This year’s pilgrimage is scheduled to take place from June 14 to 19.

Over 50,000 Pakistani Hajj pilgrims to benefit from Makkah Route Initiative this year — ministry

First Makkah Route Hajj flight to depart from Karachi airport today

Saudi arabia continues makkah route initiative.

• Launched in 2017 as part of Vision 2030, Initiative involves dedicated team to receive travelers
• Includes special buses to transport pilgrims comfortably on journey through Makkah and Madinah

RIYADH: The Makkah Route Initiative, implemented by the Saudi Ministry of Interior, continues to streamline pilgrims’ journeys from international airports in their own countries, Saudi Press Agency reported.

The initiative, set up to facilitate the arrival of pilgrims in the Kingdom, involves close cooperation between the ministry and various partner agencies.

Launched in 2017 as part of Vision 2030, it involves a dedicated team to receive the travelers and includes special buses to transport them safely and comfortably on their journey through Makkah and Madinah.

Services include biometrics, Hajj visas and electronic luggage coding.

18 health centers in Madinah to serve Hajj pilgrims

MADINAH: Madinah’s health department has prepared 18 hospitals and medical centers for this year’s Hajj.

The facilities have over 20,000 staff members, advanced medical equipment, laboratories, blood banks, vaccines, and emergency care services, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.

‘No Hajj without a permit,’ campaign launches in Makkah

• Initiative part of ‘Hajj is Worship and Civilized Behavior’ project

JEDDAH: Makkah region has launched a “No Hajj Without a Permit” campaign to prevent overcrowding and other problems during the pilgrimage later this year, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.

At the launch in the presence of several royals and officials, Prince Saud bin Mishaal, deputy governor of Makkah and vice chairman of the Central Hajj Committee, warned that action would be taken against those who violate the law.

The permit initiative is a part of the “Hajj is Worship and Civilized Behavior” campaign launched by Prince Khalid bin Faisal, advisor to King Salman and Makkah governor.

Prince Saud said that adhering to the law would ensure a safe Hajj for pilgrims.

There is coordination taking place with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and other government agencies to enforce the law.

Saudi foreign ministry signs pact to bolster humanitarian law

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Permanent Committee for International Humanitarian Law in the Kingdom signed a pact on Monday to enhance cooperation.

The Kingdom’s Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Waleed El-Khereiji inked the agreement with the committee’s Chairman Jalal Al-Owaisi.

The pact “aims to support joint efforts, encourage expertise exchange in humanitarian international law and spread its culture,” the Saudi Press Agency reported.

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AWS to Launch an Infrastructure Region in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

AWS Region will enable customers to run workloads and securely store customer content in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia while serving end users with even lower latency

New Region reflects AWS’s long-term commitment to meeting high demand for cloud services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East

AWS plans to invest more than $5.3 billion (approx. 19.88 billion SAR) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

AWS will establish two new innovation centers and investment will include upskilling students, local developers, and the next generation of local talent at any stage in their career with access to cloud computing skills

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon.com company (NASDAQ: AMZN), today announced it will launch an AWS infrastructure Region in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2026. The new AWS Region will give developers, startups, entrepreneurs, and enterprises, as well as healthcare, education, gaming, and nonprofit organizations, greater choice for running their applications and serving end users from data centers located in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ensuring that customers who want to keep their content in-country can do so. As part of its long-term commitment, AWS is planning to invest more than $5.3 billion (approx. 19.88 billion Saudi riyal) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. For more information about AWS Global Infrastructure, visit aws.amazon.com/about-aws/global-infrastructure .

“Today’s announcement supports the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation with the highest levels of security and resilience available on AWS cloud infrastructure, helping serve fast-growing demand for cloud services across the Middle East,” said Prasad Kalyanaraman, vice president of Infrastructure Services at AWS. “The new AWS Region will enable organizations to unlock the full potential of the cloud and build with AWS technologies like compute, storage, databases, analytics, and artificial intelligence, transforming the way businesses and institutions serve their customers. We look forward to helping Saudi Arabian institutions, startups, and enterprises deliver cloud-powered applications to accelerate growth, productivity, and innovation and spur job creation, skills training, and educational opportunities.”

“The partnership with AWS and their announcement of an AWS Region, backed by a $5.3 billion investment, ignites a new era of technological excellence and innovation for the Kingdom,” said His Excellency Engineer Abdullah Alswaha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Minister of Communications and Information Technology. “This cloud Region demonstrates a firm commitment to research, innovation, and empowering entrepreneurs to achieve prosperity for our region and the world.”

The new AWS Region will consist of three Availability Zones at launch, adding to the existing 105 Availability Zones across 33 geographic regions globally. With today’s announcement, AWS has plans to launch 18 more Availability Zones and six more AWS Regions in Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and the AWS European Sovereign Cloud. AWS Regions consist of Availability Zones that place infrastructure in separate and distinct geographic locations. Availability Zones are located far enough from each other to support customers’ business continuity, but near enough to provide low latency for high availability applications that use multiple Availability Zones. Each Availability Zone has independent power, cooling, and physical security and is connected through redundant, ultra-low-latency networks. AWS customers focused on high availability can design their applications to run in multiple Availability Zones to achieve even greater fault tolerance.

AWS offers the broadest and deepest portfolio of services, including analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), compute, database, Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning (ML), mobile services, storage, and other cloud technologies. Customers from startups to enterprises to public sector organizations and nonprofits will be able to use advanced technologies from the world’s leading cloud to drive innovation, meet data residency preferences, achieve lower latency, and serve demand for cloud services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East.

Amazon’s Commitment to Developing Digital Skills

To support the growth in cloud adoption across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, AWS will continue to scale its training programs and help accelerate the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goal of empowering women to increase participation in the workforce. To help support this goal, AWS is launching a new upskilling program, “AWS Saudi Arabia Women’s Skills Initiative,” in partnership with Skillsoft Global Knowledge. AWS will train up to 4,000 women on AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials, at no charge, through classroom trainings with AWS-certified professionals. This initiative is designed to help women jumpstart a career in cloud computing.

In addition, AWS will continue to invest in upskilling students, local developers and technical professionals, nontechnical professionals, and the next generation of IT leaders in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through offerings such as AWS Academy , AWS Educate , AWS re/Start , and AWS Skill Builder . These offerings help learners of all backgrounds and experiences prepare for careers in the cloud. From higher education courses to full-time workforce development programs to interactive, game-based learning content, AWS Training and Certification provides individuals with training in the ways they like to learn.

AWS will establish two new innovation centers and provide startups in the Middle East and North Africa with technical mentorship and trainings on AWS technologies such as AI and ML. AWS will also make grants available to fund graduate student research and provide free AWS Skill Builder subscriptions for up to 4,000 individuals working for small and medium enterprises established in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. AWS Skill Builder is a digital learning center with more than 600 free courses in up to 14 languages, and covering more than 30 AWS services from foundational to advanced levels. By expanding AWS’s commitment to free digital training, AWS will help accelerate the number of diverse candidates who enter the talent pipeline. Building on this commitment, AWS will also continue to scale its training programs and accelerate the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goal of empowering women to increase participation in the workforce.

AWS Academy will provide higher education institutions with ready-to-teach cloud computing curriculum that prepares students to pursue industry-recognized certifications and in-demand cloud jobs. Eleven higher education institutions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have incorporated AWS Academy courses into their curricula, including the College of Telecom and Electronics, Communications and Information College in Riyadh, the Digital Technical College for Girls in Riyadh, King Khalid University, Majmaah University, Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, and more. AWS is committed to removing barriers to cloud skills education, investing hundreds of millions of dollars to provide free cloud computing skills training to 29 million people globally by 2025 .

As part of a continued commitment to contribute to the development of digital skills, AWS and Amazon recently launched Amazon Academy to provide training and certifications in cloud technology, logistics, and retail, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The initiative complements the Human Capability Development Program of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, and aims to train over 30,000 Saudi citizens, provide 35,000 certification vouchers, and will also offer 100 internship opportunities. Amazon Academy will provide transformative training and certifications, free of cost to the participants, to elevate in-demand competencies and equip Saudi talent for jobs of the future. The program will empower the next generation of Saudi youth, entrepreneurs, and professionals at any stage of their career to achieve success across various in-demand skills such as cloud computing, logistics, and leadership. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) will collaborate with Amazon through MCIT’s Future Skills initiative to encourage Saudi talent to sign up for the skills development academy, which is operated by Saudi Digital Academy (SDA) and TUWAIQ Academy. Amazon Academy combines Amazon’s global technological and operational expertise with its understanding of the Saudi talent landscape to deploy cutting-edge skills training. Certifications under the cloud computing path will include basic and advanced to specialized levels across cloud architecting, AI, ML, data analytics, and other job-ready technology certifications to propel professionals and companies towards a digital future.

And, as part of Amazon’s continued commitment to contribute to upskilling women, Amazon launched a hiring program for female delivery associates - creating opportunities for upskilling and enabling women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to build successful careers in e-commerce logistics.

Customers welcome the AWS Region in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Organizations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are among the millions of active customers using AWS in more than 190 countries around the world. Enterprises in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia choose AWS to innovate, drive cost efficiencies, and accelerate launch time. Organizations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that choose AWS to run their workloads to accelerate innovation, increase agility, and drive cost savings include Abdul Latif Jameel, Almarai, Almosafer, Al Naghi Group, Jahez, Mobily, Red Sea Global, Saudi Telecom Group, Seera Holding Group, and more.

Abdul Latif Jameel is a nearly 80-year-old network of internationally diversified businesses shaping the future of its core sectors, mobility, energy & water, financial services, investments and health. This network has operations in over 35 countries. “The announcement of the new AWS Region in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an important development. AWS’s advanced technologies have the potential to unlock significant efficiencies for businesses in Saudi and the region, thus supporting the goals of Vision 2030,” said Hassan Jameel, deputy president and vice chairman, Abdul Latif Jameel. “We selected AWS in 2023 as Abdul Latif Jameel’s preferred cloud provider. Teaming up with AWS is powering our continued digital transformation and driving further innovation and customer centricity across our core sectors.”

Almarai is one of the world’s largest vertically integrated dairy companies and one of the largest food and beverage production and distribution companies in the Middle East. The company has 11 different brands, including one of the largest transportation fleets in the Middle East. “This is a great day for technology in the Kingdom. Establishing an AWS Region in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia represents a significant milestone that will undoubtedly revolutionize the landscape of cloud computing,” said Dr. Faisal AlNasser, Almarai CIO. “Bringing together AWS's leading cloud services and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's enormous potential will contribute to the growth and development of the economy by providing businesses with access to scalable, secure, and reliable cloud solutions. We have adopted a cloud-first policy, and with this announcement and the doors it will open, we are excited to enhance our partnership with AWS to accelerate our digital initiatives and enhance our operational efficiency.”

Almosafer is an integrated travel platform that has businesses catering to every vertical across the travel and tourism industries and is one of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s leading travel companies. Almosafer is at the forefront of delivering experiences to, from, and within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for leisure, business, and religious tourism. “We look forward to welcoming AWS in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This will no doubt enable us to leverage AWS’s cloud computing technologies to further our mutual business benefits,” said Muzzammil Ahussain, CEO, Almosafer. “As the world’s leading cloud, AWS has been an integral part of Almosafer’s digital journey, and we are confident that AWS coming to the region will bring with it even more innovative and agile solutions for us to drive growth across Saudi Arabia’s travel and tourism sector.”

Al Naghi Group is one of the largest conglomerates specializing in the automotive, consumer goods, and retail sectors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. “We extend our warmest congratulations to AWS on this exciting announcement. This is truly a step in the right direction given the Kingdom’s potential and the great opportunity it offers,” said Al Naghi Motors CIO Dr. Zakaria Elnaggar. “We are eager to explore the possibilities that this new Region will bring and look forward to leveraging AWS’s cloud services to accelerate our digital transformation journey.”

Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) provides integrated wireless services for three main sectors, namely individuals, business, and carriers. It has one of the largest wireless networks by coverage in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as the region. “Today is a special occasion for Mobily as we welcome an industry leader, AWS, which has unparalleled strength in cloud computing, to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” said Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Badran, CEO, Mobily. “This marks a significant step in our ongoing commitment to provide our customers with cutting-edge solutions and empower businesses in the Kingdom. By leveraging Mobily's deep understanding of the local market and robust infrastructure with AWS's global expertise, we are creating opportunities to deliver innovative B2B and B2C solutions that revolutionize the digital experience. Using generative AI , next-gen technologies, and exploring their full potential with AWS, we aim to unlock new business possibilities to operate more efficiently, reach broader audiences, and ultimately contribute to the Kingdom's ambitious Vision 2030 goals.”

Red Sea Global is leveraging the most innovative concepts and technologies to deliver projects that actively enhance the well-being of customers, communities, and environments. Red Sea Global operates responsible and regenerative tourism destinations that aim to enhance the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s luxury tourism and sustainability offering, going above and beyond to not only protect the natural environment, but to enhance it for future generations to come. “We are thrilled to see the world's top cloud provider, AWS, making significant investments in Saudi Arabia. At Red Sea Global, we believe this significant investment in digital infrastructure will further enhance the delivery of sustainable hospitality and tourism projects in the region. This collaboration highlights the importance of Vision 2030 projects and showcases how Saudi Arabia continues to attract top-tier companies like AWS to be part of its growth and development,” said John Pagano, Red Sea Global CEO. “The depth and breadth of AWS services, spanning from infrastructure technologies to cutting-edge innovations like machine learning and artificial intelligence, will empower us to transform our existing applications and build new solutions with ease. This massive investment in digital infrastructure will further enhance our sustainability and hospitality projects in the region.”

stc Group engages in the provision of ICT services. It establishes, manages, operates, and maintains fixed and mobile telecommunication networks, systems and infrastructure. The group engages in IoT, fintech, and cyber security. “AWS’s investment in Saudi Arabia represents a resounding endorsement of the Kingdom’s flourishing technology sector. Saudi Arabia is transforming into the region’s preeminent digital hub, supported by a thriving economy and a tech-savvy and youthful population,” said Olayan M. Alwetaid, CEO of Saudi Telecom Group. “This investment, along with the work of the Saudi Telecom Group, will accelerate the Kingdom’s goal of becoming among the world’s most connected and digitalized nations.”

AWS Partners also welcome the new AWS Region

The AWS Partner Network (APN) is a global community that leverages AWS technologies, programs, expertise, and tools to build solutions and services for customers. Together, partners and AWS provide innovative solutions, solve technical challenges, win deals, and deliver greater customer value. AWS Partners in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia include Adobe, AppSquadz, Cognizant, DXC Technology, Genesys, Kyndryl, LTMindtree, SAP, Trend Micro Incorporated, Zain, and many others. For the full list of AWS Partners, visit aws.amazon.com/partners .

“Genesys is committed to deepening its Middle East footprint and bringing AI experience and innovation to the region, most recently highlighted by adding new public social media capabilities that will enable local businesses to meet the expectations of a digital-savvy consumer base,” said Tony Bates, Genesys CEO and chairman. “Many Saudi Arabia-based organizations trust Genesys solutions today, and working together with AWS to expand our cloud capability will enable us to provide even more businesses with the foundation to undergo digital transformation, positioning them for success in the AI era. Our longstanding collaboration with AWS is critical to providing our customers with business resiliency and enabling them to meet the local requirements around data privacy, residency and protection where they operate so they can deliver loyalty-defining experiences and differentiate in the global marketplace.”

“SAP and its ecosystem of partners, such as AWS, are committed to supporting Saudi’s Vision 2030 digital objectives, and we have a long history of collaborating to enable enterprises to run more efficiently and make better use of their data,” said Ahmed AlFaifi, senior vice president, SAP Middle East Africa – North. “This extension of our partnership will help to boost the digital transformation of Saudi companies, ultimately creating a network of intelligent, sustainable, and future-proof enterprises. We believe the collaboration will benefit SAP customers in the Kingdom immensely, fostering innovation and increasing the deployment of cutting-edge digital solutions that meet local needs and contribute to the country’s impressive program of economic diversification and transformation.”

“The Kingdom is emerging as a hub for next-gen technologies, with a cloud-first strategy focused on driving growth with innovation. This continues to attract global operations including the launch of AWS, and we are looking forward to working with AWS to unlock new opportunities in the field of cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning,” said Zain CEO, Eng. Sultan Bin Abdulaziz AlDeghaither. “This partnership will further advance our award-winning solutions and enable our customers to fully benefit from generative AI and smart city functionalities. This aligns with our strategic goal of expanding our digital ecosystem to empower communities and protect the environment while shaping the future of enterprise productivity and accelerating the transition to a sustainable, digital economy.”

Commitment to sustainability

Amazon is committed to becoming a more sustainable business and reaching net-zero carbon across its operations by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement, as part of The Climate Pledge. Amazon co-founded The Climate Pledge and became its first signatory in 2019. As part of its Climate Pledge commitment, Amazon is on a path to power its operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025, five years ahead of the original 2030 target. See Amazon's public methodology for more on its approach . Amazon has been named the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy for the last four years in a row — a position it’s held since 2020, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Amazon now has more than 500 renewable energy projects in 27 countries. Additionally, AWS will be water positive by 2030, returning more water to communities than it uses in its direct operations.

About Amazon Web Services

Since 2006, Amazon Web Services has been the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud. AWS has been continually expanding its services to support virtually any workload, and it now has more than 240 fully featured services for compute, storage, databases, networking, analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, security, hybrid, media, and application development, deployment, and management from 105 Availability Zones within 33 geographic regions, with announced plans for 18 more Availability Zones and six more AWS Regions in Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and the AWS European Sovereign Cloud. Millions of customers—including the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies—trust AWS to power their infrastructure, become more agile, and lower costs. To learn more about AWS, visit aws.amazon.com .

About Amazon

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth’s Best Employer, and Earth’s Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.

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