Saudi Arabia seeks to attract 4 mln Chinese visitors by 2030

RIYADH, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) has made several key moves this summer towards the target of attracting 4 million Chinese visitors annually by 2030, the STA said in a statement on Tuesday.

Among the initiatives are a new direct flight route connecting the kingdom's capital Riyadh and the Red Sea port city of Jeddah to Beijing, the capital of China, which was announced by Saudi flag carrier SAUDIA last week, the STA reviewed.

In addition, the kingdom and China have reached bilateral agreements to promote tourism, including enrolling China in Saudi's expedited e-visa program, and SAUDIA's 96-hour stopover visa program that offers its passengers a one-night hotel stay in the kingdom, it added.

The statement highlighted several measures already put in place earlier this year to facilitate Chinese visitors. Visitors can now browse the official Chinese-languaged tourist portal VisitSaudi.cn, and better navigate themselves at the Riyadh airport, where Mandarin signage, Chinese-language hotline, the UnionPay card scheme and Chinese restaurants are available.

Under Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, the kingdom intended to boost tourism to 100 million annual visits by 2030.