Weekend travel from Qatar to Saudi Arabia on rise
The number of pilgrims and tourists from Qatar to Saudi Arabia has increased significantly in the last two months, especially on weekends.
Experts also project promising growth in the coming months.
Several travel agencies across the country have reported huge patronage for their services as residents and pilgrims take advantage of the favourable travel path for GCC residents.
Saudi Arabia has made travel to the kingdom quicker, easier, and more accessible. The new regulations allow GCC residents, including Qatar, to apply for an e-visa through an online portal.
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Besides, during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Saudi Arabia allowed holders of Hayya card — the digital fan ID for World Cup visitors to Qatar — free entry into the Kingdom for 60 days.
“After Saudi has removed restrictions for Umrah and Hajj, they have provided the facility for the tourist visa on which we can go for Umrah as well,” said Irfan Omer, an industry expert and Operations Manager at Happy Journey Travels.
“I have arranged almost 150 to 200 visas for different nationalities. I have also arranged visas for Hayya card holders. In December, the demand was really high.
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The market for Saudi Arabia is doing well. Most residents have applied for this kind of visa, and they go mostly during weekends.”
He added: “The flights are full, hotel prices are slightly increased, and a surge in demand is huge. The one-year multiple (entry) visas for GCC residents have also been encouraging.”
Residents usually book their Umrah to fall on Fridays or Saturday. Most would usually leave Doha on Thursday night, perform Umrah and return to Qatar on Friday or Saturday.
Recently, Saudi officials dropped all COVID-related restrictions for travellers to the nation, effectively granting entry to vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers to the Kingdom.
Non-Saudi nationals holding tourist visas are currently allowed to enter the Kingdom, regardless of their vaccination status.
Travellers can also download and install the Tawakkalna mobile app to verify their vaccine status in Saudi Arabia.
Proof of vaccination and health verification via the Tawakkalna application is also no longer required to enter facilities, events, public transportation, or boarding planes except for those establishments whose nature demands otherwise.
Omer said that the lessened restrictions have led to increasing costs for hotels around Makkah and Haram.
Omer said that the lessened restrictions have led to increasing costs for hotels around Makkah and Haram.
“Cheaper hotels are available, but they are a little far from the Haram, but they are cheaper, costing around QR150 to QR300 per night. Other cities like Jeddah and Riyadh have the most demand, and hotels are around QR1,000 to QR1,500 per night. They also go up during the weekends,” Omer added.
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