RIYADH: In a bid to promote tourism and open Saudi Arabia to visitors from India, the Kingdom is set to increase inbound flights from Asia’s second-largest economy by 19 percent, a top official said. Alhasan Al-Dabbagh, president of Asia-Pacific markets, Saudi Tourism Authority, said that the Kingdom is planning to increase the number of flights from India to 290 per week from the existing 243. In an interview with BW Hotelier, a hospitality magazine, Al-Dabbagh revealed that Saudi Arabia received almost 1 million visitors from India in 2022, and the aim is to double the number of visitations to 2 million in 2023. “We have already welcomed 400,000 Indian travelers during the first quarter of this year, and by 2030, we aim to reach over 12 million Indian visitors,” Al-Dabbagh said. He added: “It is now easier than ever to visit Saudi with our 96-hour free stopover visa. We have opened nine VFS Tasheel Visa offices around India to increase accessibility to visit the true home of Arabia.” Creating a robust tourism environment is a key pillar of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, as the Kingdom is steadily diversifying its economy, which has been dependent on oil for several decades. Saudi Arabia’s National Tourism Strategy aims to attract 100 million visitors by 2030, along with increasing the contribution of the tourism sector to the gross domestic product in the Kingdom to more than 10 percent. During the interview, Al-Dabbagh noted that Saudi Arabia is targeting two key segments of Indian travelers; the first is families visiting the Kingdom to enjoy its rich cultural regions, and the second is travelers who visit Saudi Arabia to meet their friends and families. The Kingdom is currently home to 2.6 million Indians. Al-Dabbagh pointed out that Saudi Arabia’s hospitality pipeline has over 42,000 keys under construction, a strong indication of the strengthening tourism sector in the Kingdom. “Activating our smaller towns with family-friendly and culturally rich experiences will be key to developing our tourism infrastructure which will bring visitors closer to our heritage,” he added.