المملكة: One million riyals is the roof of tourist fines .. comprehensive amendments to the violations list

The Ministry of Tourism presented a new amendment to the schedule of violations of travel and tourism services activity, in a strategic step aimed at developing the regulatory system on the tourism sector, and raising the level of quality of services provided to tourists, in addition to keeping pace with organizational changes and modern international standards.
The Ministry stated that this amendment comes within the framework of its endeavor to enhance compliance with regulations and regulations, and to achieve an accurate balance between effective control and sustainable development in one of the most prominent and activities of the national economy.
In the new amendments list, the ministry identified the concept of “grave violation”, which includes dangerous practices such as operating tourism activities without obtaining the necessary licenses, or continuing to practice work despite the cancellation of the license or during its suspension period or after its completion.

Grand violations

The list was considered a grave violations, that is, a practice that may harm the safety of the public or offend the reputation of tourism in the Kingdom, in addition to preventing the inspectors from performing their control tasks or refraining from cooperating with them and providing the required information.
In a trend aimed at providing an opportunity to correct the situation, the regulation included the principle of warning as a first stage before the penalty is imposed on violations that are not classified as a body. Under this principle, the violator is granted a corrective deadline to address the status quo within a specific period to be notified.
In the event that the correction is not adhered to during the deadline granted, the prescribed punishment is applied directly. The regulations indicated that this principle is not applied in the event of a repeated violation.
The Ministry emphasized the tightening of the penalties when repeating the violation, whether it is serious or unfair, as the repetition is calculated if the violation is committed within one year of the date of the previous violation.

This repetition results in a doubling of the period of suspension or temporary closure of the facility, provided that the suspension or closure period does not exceed a full year.
The competent committee was granted the authority to double the financial punishment that was imposed in the previous violation, provided that the upper limit stipulated for the fine is not exceeded. In the event that the same violation is committed four times and is not determined by a non -financial penalty, the committee is entitled to impose a temporary closure penalty or suspend the license for up to 60 days.

Financial fines

With regard to financial fines, the regulation stipulated the necessity of graduating in determining its value, starting from the minimum and then multiplying it upon repetition, with an affirmation that the total fine does not exceed the upper limit, which was defined by five times the minimum fine or a million Saudi riyals as a maximum. The committee is also entitled to consider the circumstances of each violation separately, and to determine the appropriate punishment according to the extent of its grave and impact, whether the penalty is financial or non -financial or both of them.
The regulations permit the committee to impose a daily fine on the continuation of the violation, with a rate not exceeding 5% of the minimum fine of that violation, provided that the total amount of the daily fine does not exceed the minimum, and this daily fine of the date set by the committee does not exceed its decision.
The Ministry has set three basic criteria for determining financial sanctions, namely: the category of tourism activity “where activities were divided into three main categories that include travel and public and unlicensed tourism services, regulating tourism trips, travel and tourism agencies, hospitality units reservation services”, and the geographical range “where it was divided into three ranges that include major cities and major projects, then other major cities, and finally the rest of the cities and governorates.

In addition to the electronic platforms that are treated for the first domain, and the size of the “micro, small, medium, and large” tourist establishment, where the penalty rate ranges from 25% for micro -facilities to reach 100% for large facilities. The ministry excluded from this graduation tourist facilities that operate without a license, as they are dealt with automatically as large installations in calculating the value of the sanctions.

Promote commitment

Within the schedule of the proposed violations and fines, which aims to enhance the commitment and raise the quality, the act of activity was classified without a license within the grave violations, with a fine of 50 thousand riyals on those who engage in the activity before obtaining the license or after its completion, as well as those who practice it after canceling the license or during his suspension period.
The amendments included the imposition of varying fines on other violations. For example, a fine of 500 riyals was set on a number of procedural and media violations such as not to include the trade name and the license number in official documents or the non -highlight of the brand. As for the violation of the lack of adherence to the decisions and instructions issued by the ministry, it has been paid for 8,000 riyals.
The fine reached 5000 riyals when providing services that are not covered by licensing or changing the office site without approval. In cases of enabling others to use the license or deal with unlicensed bodies, the fine was set at 25 thousand riyals.
The Ministry monitored a fine of 6000 riyals for a group of violations, including closing the office without permission, preventing inspectors from performing their duties, or not responding to the ministry. With a fine value of 1000 riyals, organizational violations such as amending the commercial registry came without approval or inappropriate dealing with the tourist. As for the lack of response to the complaints of tourists, its fine is 2000 riyals, while it reaches 10 thousand riyals in the event of reopening the facility during the regular closure period or the use of propaganda images that are not identical to the reality.
The Ministry of Tourism confirmed that these amendments come to ensure the provision of tourism services that rise to the aspirations of tourists and preserve their rights, and contribute to the growth of the sector in an organized and sustainable manner.