JEDDAH: Further visa liberalization, including expanding e-visa access and reducing costs, could help Saudi Arabia attract more visitors and build a self-sustaining tourism sector, according to an economist.
Speaking during a panel at the Future Hospitality Summit in Riyadh, Scott Livermore, chief economist for the Middle East at Oxford Economics, said easier travel access would help sustain growth in one of the sectors central to Saudi Arabia’s diversification plans.
The comments come as Saudi Arabia advances Vision 2030 reforms aimed at diversifying the economy away from oil, expanding private-sector participation, and developing new growth industries, including tourism, entertainment, logistics, and technology.
“That will continue to push the visitor numbers and create that self-sustaining ecosystem for the tourism sector, and you can pick similar examples across the different sectors of the economy,” he said.
Livermore said Saudi Arabia has moved beyond the initial phase of its economic reforms and is now focused on developing self-sustaining, productivity-driven sectors capable of growing without significant government support.
