THERE are several obstacles impeding the development of tourism industry in our country. Here I will shed light on only a few few of them. Let us first talk about the so-called “religious tourism”. The number of pilgrims, no matter how many they are, remains restricted. Hotels and furnished apartments in Makkah are unable to accommodate an open number of pilgrims. There are also places in Makkah that even Saudis are not allowed to enter without a special permit from the Ministry of Interior. A number of travel and tourist agencies have complained that the customers they bring to the Kingdom are not allowed to visit historical sites that may be only about 60 km away from Makkah or Madinah. At the end of Haj or Umrah seasons, touristic ventures were prohibited. But, of late, the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) was able to allow pilgrims whose Haj or Umrah visas have expired to stay on in the Kingdom as tourists. The commission obtained the approval of the concerned authorities including the ministries of interior and Haj to allow Muslims coming to Makkah to remain in the Kingdom and participate in a tailored tourism program. It is obvious that this arrangement does not include non-Muslims, who can be of an important source of tourism income. There is no fear that Europeans or Americans would overstay in the Kingdom. This snub has encouraged the Schengen countries to be more rigid in granting entry visas to Saudis. These countries have allowed citizens of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman to enter without visas within the principle of equal treatment. An official at the European Union said the union was applying the principle of equal treatment when it allows the citizens of some countries to come to the Schengen countries without visas. Last but not the least, there should have been basic tourist infrastructure, hotels and furnished apartments in some tourist places such as in the Farasan Islands.
