Wego, the largest online travel marketplace in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) have announced a strategic partnership to inspire Middle East holidaymakers to visit Saudi after more than a year of hiatus.
Wego and the Saudi Tourism Authority will collaborate to drive tourist traffic from the region to Riyadh and Jeddah; its sand dunes, mountains and desert oases; as well as its Red Sea coastline.
Mamoun Hmedan, Chief Commercial Officer and MD, MENA and India, Wego, said: "This new collaboration reflects our commitment to boost tourism in the region, to a destination that is unlike anywhere in the world. Since the date of the flight resumption announcement to Saudi, we keep seeing a strong demand for the flight and hotel searches and bookings to the country from the region. Around 4 million flight searches were recorded on our platform in October 2021."
The top MENA countries dominating searches on KSA include UAE, Kuwait, Jordan and Oman. Wego data shows that around 65% of people are searching for a stay of around three days. Three quarters of the searches (76%) are for solo travel, followed by families and couples.
Ahmed Elbahr, Director Middle East & Africa, Saudi Tourism Authority, said: "As we continue to expand and grow our presence, not only in the region but also internationally, the Middle East and Africa will continue to be one of the most important priority source markets for Saudi."
"Saudi is on a journey to building a leading global destination and partnerships play a critical role in increasing awareness and driving conversion so that more travellers are able to experience Saudi's unique culture and heritage, untouched natural landscape and abundance of entertainment offerings."
Saudi's tourism campaigns include Riyadh Seasons in October. The largest lifestyle event in the world has 13 family-friendly zones, 7,500 events and hundreds of restaurants around the city.
Travellers who are fully vaccinated with Saudi and WHO-approved vaccines will be allowed to enter the country without the need for an institutional quarantine period. Saudi has approved nine Covid-19 vaccinations for entry: AstraZeneca, Covishield, SK Bioscience, Vaxzevria, Pfizer-BioNTech, Comirnaty Moderna, Spikevax and Johnson & Johnson. Tourists will also have to carry a negative RT-PCR Covid-19 test taken within the last 72 hours and register their details with health authorities.