Agoda To Promote Tourism To Saudi Arabia

Agoda To Promote Tourism To Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia’s ministry in charge of the Islamic events of Haj and Umrah signed a preliminary agreement with online travel agent Agoda to promote the kingdom to Hajj and Umrah pilgrims and other visitors, as part of national efforts to boost tourism.

Under the agreement with the Ministry of Haj and Umrah, Agoda will market Saudi Arabia to prospective visitors through a dedicated portal on Agoda’s website.

In addition, the two parties agreed to closely evaluate data on guest flows and booking accommodation to explore how they can improve services to the millions of religious tourists that visit the kingdom each year and increase their numbers, they said in a statement on Tuesday.

Agoda is one of the world’s best-known travel booking websites. It has entered into similar marketing partnerships in other countries, including with Indian e-travel company Yatra.com this week.

The kingdom is working to expand its tourism industry as part of its Vision 2030 economic diversification strategy. It is already in the process of reviewing visa regulations and opening up new areas of the kingdom, including the Red Sea coastline, to international and domestic visitors.

In particular, it aims to grow numbers of Hajj and Umrah tourists – currently the biggest contributor to Saudi visitor numbers – to 30 million by 2030, from 19 million.

Originally published on www.thenational.ae