Editing Saudi Arabia (section)

=== Tourism ===
{{Main|Tourism in Saudi Arabia}}
[[File:Rijal Almaa at Night 2019.jpg|thumb|[[Rijal Almaa]] Heritage Village in [[Aseer]]]]

In 2019, Saudi Arabia adopted a general tourism [[travel visa]] to allow non-Muslims to visit.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hiltner |first=Stephen |date=2024-06-05 |title=Surprising, Unsettling, Surreal: Roaming Through Saudi Arabia |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/05/travel/saudi-arabia-tourism.html |access-date=2024-06-05 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Although most tourism largely involves religious pilgrimages, there is growth in the leisure tourism sector. According to the [[World Bank]], approximately 14.3 million people visited Saudi Arabia in 2012, making it the world's 19th-most-visited country.<ref>[https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21607898-can-kingdom-attract-more-visitors-wish-you-were-here Tourism in Saudi Arabia: Wish you were here], economist.com.</ref> Tourism is an important component of the [[Saudi Vision 2030]], and according to a report conducted by [[BMI Research]] in 2018 both religious and non-religious tourism have significant potential for expansion.<ref>[http://www.arabianbusiness.com/travel-hospitality/387984-tourism-key-to-saudi-arabias-vision-2030-plans Tourism key to Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 plans], arabianbusiness.com</ref>

The kingdom offers an electronic visa for foreign visitors to attend sports events and concerts.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-visa/saudi-arabia-to-offer-visitor-visa-for-special-events-from-december-idUSKCN1M51LD|title=Saudi Arabia to offer visitor visa for special events from December|work=Reuters|access-date=25 September 2018}}</ref> In 2019, the kingdom announced its plans to open visa applications for visitors, where people from about 50 countries would be able to get tourist visas to Saudi.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mirrorherald.com/tourist-visa-to-saudi-arabia/|title=Tourist Visa to Saudi Arabia: Revising Age-Old Policies for Visitors|access-date=8 September 2019|website=Mirror Herald}}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 2020 it was announced that holders of a US, UK or [[Schengen Area|Schengen]] visa are eligible for a Saudi electronic visa upon arrival.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-01-04|title=Saudi visa on arrival for tourists with UK, US, EU visas|url=https://arab.news/prnxs|access-date=2021-06-21|website=Arab News|language=en}}
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