Saudi Arabia Updates Tourism Regulations

The Ministry of Tourism in Saudi Arabia has announced updates to four key regulations impacting travel and tourism services, tourist guides, hospitality facilities, and private hospitality units. These changes aim to improve service quality and enhance the visitor experience in response to the rapid growth of tourism activities and evolving business models. The updated Travel and Tourism Services Regulation simplifies licensing categories, expands the range of permitted services, and offers greater operational flexibility, including multiple options for license duration. It also clarifies the rights and obligations of service providers and customers while raising standards governing the activity. The Tourist Guide Regulation now allows guides to operate across multiple regions and specializations, with simplified licensing categories and requirements for issuing and renewing licenses. Tourist guides can contract directly with tourists and issue booking documents, with clear disclosure of prices and policies. Changes to the Hospitality Facility Regulation address licensing, classification, and operating procedures, strengthening security, safety, and workforce qualifications. The regulation introduces specialized categories for hospitality facilities and links classification more closely to licensing and service standards. For private hospitality units, the regulatory framework has shifted from permits to licenses, with updated application requirements and criteria. The regulation strengthens operational, security, and safety requirements and establishes obligations for service provision and tourist rights. Ministry spokesperson Nasr Al-Ansari emphasized the importance of these changes in improving tourism services and helping investors and operators comply with regulatory requirements. The updated regulations are available on the ministry’s website, and support is provided through the Unified Tourism Center.