Background
Traveling to Saudi Arabia had been a dream for many until recently when an abrupt ban on tourist visas was imposed without any prior warning. Despite being a thriving economic hub in the Middle east, with job opportunities, while also boasting a prestigious “religious tourism”, reports indicate that travelling to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had become quite a cumbersome task. Even though travel from and to Saudi Arabia had been restricted for quite sometime to a certain extent, this particular travel ban from 2020 is the most restrictive till date.
Scope
The 2020 Saudi Arabia travel ban, initially imposed due to Covid-19, applied to tourism-related visits, visas, iqama extended-stay visas and pilgrimages had placed a blanket ban on all global travelers entering the country. Additionally, it was officially declared that no new visas will be issued during the ban, with the regulation following a strict “situation dependent” approach.
Origin
The travel ban, rightfully dubbed as a measure to safeguard its citizens in the face of Covid-19, aimed to contain the spread of the virus in heavily crowded areas. As of September 2020, the number of cases reported had surpassed 313,000 in a population of 33 million. Hence, the decision to close the country’s borders was taken keeping in mind the larger interest of its citizens, even if it unintendedly is resulting in lowering the standards of living for those with much smaller means and no other opportunities to look forward to.
Response
In response to the situation, Saudi authorities had also implemented a “residency permit waiver” earlier this year, easing the worry of stranded expatriates. Many of the expatriates, who opened businesses or took up jobs during the implementation of the ban measures, report having complications with regards to residency permits and visas as the sponsors were unable to clear their paperwork.
Relaxation of Rules
Since the mid of October 2020, the Government of Saudi Arabia had been slowly relaxing some travel restrictions as well as the extension of validity of residency and business visas for an additional four months, valid till the 31st of January 2021. The Government had also launched a “self-service” portal so that expatriates who wanted to extend their stay can do so online, but this is only an option available to workers of private companies and dependent family members.
Assessment
While population density and hence, the risks of further viral spread within the country is substantial, experts call for the consideration of different “diplomatic agreements” between different states, where different restrictions may be put in place for different demographics. For instance, some countries policy for permitting solo travelers who possess well-established residence basis and are undergoing either leisure or business activities. They also suggest easing certain restrictions for citizenship and family members, depending on the circumstance.
Statistics
As per reports from the World Bank, the external sector concentration indicator of Saudi Arabia stands at around 54%, with an inflation rate of around 4% as of 2020. The overall GDP for the year 2020 has stood at a stable 846.50 USD Billion albeit due to a dip in economic activity due to Covid-19. This implies essential restrictions of the entry for any foreign areas could have adversely hampered the country’s economic prospects.
Advice to Travelers
In the light of the on-going ban, it is suggested that people desiring to travel to Saudi Arabia be well-versed about the current mandatory travel regulations and rules in order to prevent any misconceptions or exceptional cases. It is indeed adviced to take appropriate precautions before travelling to achieve a safe and secure journey. Pre-trip tests combining PCR and antigens test results, proof of vaccination, and certified Covid tests reports prior to travelling are mandatory, as per regulations.
Impact on Tourism
Experts suggest that the travel ban has immensely impacted the region’s tourism industry, which had been slowly growing with the opening of its first-ever tourist destination entry in 2019. With the sudden Covid-19 related lockdown, experts believe that major international carriers had to be deployed in order to repatriate citizens in other nations, with detailed reports indicating that several human-to-human and services-related activities had to be taken in a phased-measured approach in order to prevent associated risks.
Pandemic response
The pandemic response from Saudi Arabia had been a collective effort with several hospitals and ICU units enabled to provide assistance throughout the course of the pandemic. Reports suggest that over 3000 beds were rolled out in ICUs in order to take care of the critically-ill patients who had caught the Covid-19 related virus. Vaccinations of medical workers and frontline workers had been prioritized in order to avoid further spread of the virus, and a “Vaccination Record” had been put forth in order to enable the tracking of doses.
Clinical Trials
Recent developments indicate that the country had also been testing the efficacy of different treatments and vaccines on the virus. Reports indicate that Saudi Arabia had been a significant clinical trial site for the testing of new treatments and vaccines in order to build up reliable and data-backed protocols.
Benefits
Despite the heavy Covid-19 related restrictions, several benefits are being extended to the citizen as part of an initiative by the Saudi government. It is noted that around 40 million citizens are set to receive a “relief” or “emergency” bonus, building up on benefits such as the diversification of the economy, tax-free payments, unlocked loan debt systems, etc.
Education
In the wake of the pandemic, Saudi Arabia had also implemented a noteworthy policy in order to assess the education system and prevent the “School Drop-out” rate for differential age brackets of students. This was largely achieved through shifting of regular classes to an online-based system in order to cater to the needs of the students so that they do not fall behind in the course of their studies by staying home and maintaining social distancing.
Social implication
Under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country had allays been able to achieve steady progress in terms of its social and cultural benchmarks. Recent official reports indicate that the country had made strives in terms of reassigning jobs to women, equal opportunity and development for women and foreign nationals, regardless of any bias or prejudice. This was largely made possible with the help of employment quotas and incentives that were extended to women to promote their job participation.
