Saudi Tourism Authority

The Saudi Tourism Authority is one of the entities responsible for developing the tourism sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This is achieved by developing tourism products and packages, organizing and marketing them, and enhancing the level of tourism services in the Kingdom to enrich the tourists' experience. The headquarters of the Saudi Tourism Authority is located in the Diplomatic Quarter in the capital, Riyadh. It has twelve international offices promoting Saudi tourist destinations across seven major global markets.

The authority was established during the reign of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, by a decision of the Council of Ministers on March 10, 2020. It enjoys a legal personality and administrative and financial independence. Its goal is to support the growth of the travel and tourism sector by meeting the needs of tourism companies and other commercial partners.

The authority has a board of directors that includes a number of members. The board is the supreme authority of the organization, responsible for overseeing its affairs, managing it, and handling its matters. Organizationally, it is linked to the Minister of Tourism, who chairs its board of directors.

The Saudi Tourism Authority is one of three main entities collaboratively working to enhance the efficiency of the Saudi tourism ecosystem. These are: the Ministry of Tourism, responsible for establishing regulations and legislations for the tourism sector, the Tourism Development Fund, in charge of supporting investment, developing tourist areas within the Kingdom, and financing establishments in the tourism sector, and the Saudi Tourism Authority itself.
The Authority has a number of mandates and responsibilities, including: stimulating the private tourism sector in the Kingdom and enhancing its roles, working on the development of tourism packages and products to suit the needs of the tourism sector, participating in international and local tourism exhibitions, attracting tourists by marketing tourist destinations within the Kingdom, overseeing and organizing tourism campaigns, developing the tourism sector in the Kingdom through preparing studies and research that measure the tourist experience, in addition to establishing a center to measure and develop the tourist experience.

Saudi Tourism Authority launched the Tourism Makers initiative in March 2021. This initiative is meant for the private tourism sector facilities and allows them to register for several webinars provided by the authority. The initiative aims at developing the facilities of the private tourism sector, raising their efficiency, and improving the quality of the provided services in a manner that reflects positively on the tourism system in the Kingdom.

To facilitate the Hajj and Umrah journeys for pilgrims, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, in cooperation with the Saudi Tourism Authority, launched the Nusuk application in September 2022. This was within the Pilgrim Experience Program, one of the initiatives to achieve Saudi Vision 2030, aiming to streamline the arrival of those intending to visit Makkah al-Mukarramah and al-Madinah al-Munawwarah from all segments of Umrah performers and visitors, and to enrich their journey. In addition, the authority organizes several regional and global tours to empower the private sector and forge fruitful partnerships between international travel companies and service providers related to Umrah and visits, both within and outside the Kingdom.