Dhaka: Saudi Arabia has announced to reopen borders for tourists on August

1. The lifting of travel restrictions comes after 18 months since the kingdom first imposed an entry ban on tourists at the onset of the pandemic to curb the virus spread.

Earlier in late 2019, the kingdom also launched electronic visas for tourists prior to the pandemic. And now as Saudi will reopening its borders again, tourists will be able to enjoy the e-visa facility.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia has plans to rebrand itself as a unique tourist destination for nature lovers and curious travelers in an attempt to increase non-oil revenue while generating more employment.

Citizens of 49 countries, mostly European, as well as the US and China, among others, will be allowed to enter the kingdom under the new rules without quarantine, only if they provide a negative PCR test before travel and have vaccine certificates proving two doses of the Oxford/Astra Zeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, or a single dose of the vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson.

Travelers vaccinated with the Chinese Sinopharm or Sinovac vaccine must have received a third dose of one of the other vaccines to enter the kingdom.

In late July, Saudi Arabia also warned that any citizen who travels to red-listed countries, such as the neighboring Dubai where the delta variant is present, could face a three-year travel ban.