Tourism Breaking News
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has announced the launch of a range of products, packages and experiences for pilgrims from Turkey who are wishing to visit Makkah and Madinah. A special trade roadshow hosted in Istanbul recently by the Saudi Tourism Authority announced that Turkish citizens can now obtain an entry visa into Saudi quickly and easily. Turkish nationals wishing to visit Saudi will now have the option to obtain a tourist visa through the Saudi Embassy or Consulate in Turkey, the visa issued within 48 hours through accredited travel and tourism offices in Turkey which are listed on the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. Residents of the United States of America, United Kingdom, and European Union countries, or holders of United States, United Kingdom, and Schengen active visas; can obtain the visa upon arrival at the international airports in the cities of Jeddah, Madinah, Riyadh and Dammam.
The Ministry of Hajj & Umrah also launched Nusuk (nusuk.sa/tr), an integrated digital government platform designed to enhance and enrich the Umrah experience for Muslims visiting Makkah and Madinah in Turkish. The platform will enable simpler arrival procedures for visitors to perform Umrah and a range of services that will include facilitating visas, permits, booking processes and procedures along with special packages for Makkah, Madina and a host of other historical religious sites in Saudi. Additionally, Saudi citizens can now issue a personal visit visa for their friends, as can citizens and residents wishing to host their relatives. This can be done through the unified national visa platform visa.mofa.gov.sa.
Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO and Member of the Board at Saudi Tourism Authority and Managing Director of Nusuk, said: “Saudi continues its efforts to welcome more Muslims from Turkey and around the world than ever before. Through Nusuk and working with our travel trade partners in Turkey, we are eliminating barriers, expanding travel options and choice and driving down costs to make it easier for Muslims to embark on their spiritual journey with comfort and confidence.”
The CEO added: “Saudi is transforming at a speed and scale which has never been witnessed before and Saudi Tourism Authority is committed to promoting the beauty, diversity and wonder of the country’s unique tourism proposition. We are proud to be in Turkey, bringing the breadth and depth of the Saudi tourism offering with the presence of more than 50 partners, to build bridges, to learn, to exchange information and gain a deeper understanding of what our partners want and need.”
