Riyadh: The Kingdom plans to increase inbound flights from Asia's second-largest economy by 19 percent, a top official said, in an effort to promote tourism and open Saudi Arabia to visitors from India. 

The Kingdom intends to increase the number of flights from India from the current 243 per week to 290 per week, according to Alhasan Al-Dabbagh, president of Asia-Pacific markets for the Saudi Tourism Authority. 

Al-Dabbagh stated in an interview with the hospitality magazine BW Hotelier that Saudi Arabia received nearly 1 million visitors from India in 2022, and that the country hopes to double that number to 2 million in 2023. 

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As of this year's first quarter, "we have already welcomed 400,000 Indian tourists, and by 2030, we aim to reach over 12 million Indian visitors," Al-Dabbagh said. 

The 96-hour free stopover visa makes it simpler than ever to travel to Saudi Arabia, he continued. To improve accessibility to the real home of Arabia, we opened nine VFS Tasheel Visa offices throughout India. 

Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 places a strong emphasis on developing a thriving tourism industry as the country gradually diversifies its economy, which has been largely dependent on oil for many years. 

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According to Saudi Arabia's National Tourism Strategy, the country wants to receive 100 million tourists by 2030 and boost the tourism industry's share of the country's GDP to more than 10%.

Al-Dabbagh mentioned during the interview that Saudi Arabia targets two important traveller groups from India: families visiting the Kingdom to take in its diverse cultural regions and individuals visiting Saudi Arabia to visit friends and family. 

There are currently 2.6 million Indians living in the Kingdom.

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Over 42,000 keys are currently being built in Saudi Arabia's hospitality pipeline, according to Al-Dabbagh, which is a clear sign of the Kingdom's expanding tourism industry. 

"Developing our tourism infrastructure will be key to developing our smaller towns with family-friendly and culturally rich experiences that will bring tourists closer to our heritage," he continued.