Saudi Tourism Authority Hosts 4-City Networking Events in India

Saudi Tourism races ahead with 4-city networking events for Indian travel trade, after witnessing promising inbound numbers and growth projections from last year. Aims to make India its top source market targeting 7.5 million visitors within the next seven years.

Committed to the Indian market, Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) hosts a series of networking events held across four cities – Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, and Delhi for the members of the Indian travel trade associations. The STA delegation with key stakeholders engaged with over 500 travel agents and tour operators from these key cities. STA also organised sales mission in collaboration with leading Destination Management Companies (DMC) across all four cities, engaging with key trade partners. The aim is to fostering strategic partnerships and long-term business ties within India.

Beginning the year with massive inbound numbers from last year and encouraging growth projections, Saudi tourism aims to make India its top source market targeting 7.5 million visitors within the next seven years.STA also participated in trade shows in India, setting the tone for a year brimming with opportunities. STA delegation, comprising 20 key Saudi stakeholders and distinguished associates, engaged fervently with Indian travel agents and tour operators, paving the way for collaborations.

Throughout the events, STA engaged in meetings, signed MoUs and initiated partnerships with members of Indian travel trade associations, tour operators, and event planners. Attendees are said to be enlightened about 17,000 events on the Saudi calendar, and other areas such as electronic visa options, Giga projects, newly launched hotels, and increased air connectivity.

Areas where Saudi Tourism has actively looked into to facilitate seamless travel experiences include simplified visa process offering options like e-visas and visa-on-arrival for Indian travelers;increased air connectivity reaching a capacity of 2.8 million seats in 2023 and marking a remarkable 31% increase since 2019. The steps also include aligningvarious consumer campaigns like destination awareness campaign from the luxury point of view, summer initiatives in March and April as well as winter initiatives later this year. The Living Wonders of Arabia and the Women Wonder campaigns is also expected to be launched soon.

STA launched the ‘Go Beyond What You Think’ campaign video with football icon Lionel Messi earlier this year reflecting the vision of positioning the country as an exciting destination and breaking myths. STA also expects to have another mega year ahead rolling out a slew of consumer campaigns, giga projects and major trade partnerships set to be rolled out in the coming months,