المملكة: “Tourism” regulates the travel market with a “two million” guarantee… and tourist compensation is “mandatory.”

The Ministry of Tourism revealed a draft of a comprehensive project to amend the regulation of travel and tourism services, which included a precise classification of licenses, and the imposition of financial guarantees amounting to two million riyals to protect rights, while requiring licensees to adhere to strict policies for immediate compensation for tourists in cases of interruption of services or inability to make reservations, as part of the Ministry’s endeavor to raise the quality of the sector and protect beneficiaries.

The new regulation prohibited the practice of any activity for travel and tourism services without obtaining a valid license, or during periods of suspension and closure, and classified licenses into Two main categories are “Travel and Tourism Agency” and “General Travel and Tourism Services,” to cover all activities from booking tickets to organizing integrated tourism programs.

The Ministry obliged license applicants to provide a financial guarantee or insurance policy not exceeding two million riyals, from which the tourist’s financial rights and imposed fines will be collected, as the regulations strictly stipulate that the tourist’s financial rights will be fulfilled from this guarantee within only twenty-four hours from the date of informing the licensee.

The draft set precise standards to protect the tourist when the service cannot be provided, obliging the service provider to provide an equal or higher alternative, or return the amount immediately without a discount, and gives the tourist a choice between recovering His money or obtaining a replacement unit in the event of an interruption of basic services such as electricity and water for a period exceeding two hours.

The regulations stressed the prohibition of the use of flight reservation systems for unlicensed parties, and prohibited the sale of tickets with “IATA” numbers to destinations outside the Kingdom. It also prohibited deducting any amounts from tourists’ credit cards without prior agreement, with the necessity of completing refunds within fifteen days when the service is not provided.

The Ministry approved a new structure for the financial compensation for licenses based on Duration and category, as the fee for issuing a license for “general travel and tourism services” for a period of five years amounts to twenty-eight thousand riyals, while it amounts to fourteen thousand riyals for the category of “travel and tourism agency” for the same period, with the possibility of licensing for periods starting from one year.

The amendments required the presence of a licensed tour guide for every twenty-five tourists as a minimum when arranging guidance services, and obligated companies to respond to complaints and inquiries around the clock, and to use the Arabic and English languages in transactions and documents according to their desire. Tourist.

The draft imposed high qualification requirements for human cadres, requiring that Saudi managers obtain a bachelor’s degree with one year’s experience, or a diploma with two years’ experience, while it required expatriate workers in highly skilled professions to have at least seven years’ experience to ensure professional competence.

The regulation emphasized absolute transparency in prices, obliging companies to announce comprehensive price lists for fees and taxes, and prohibited keeping photos of tourists’ IDs unless absolutely necessary, with an emphasis on data confidentiality and non-sharing. Without explicit approval.

The Ministry granted itself the right to coordinate with the competent authorities to view the financial statements of licensed entities, and obligated companies to update their employee data within three months of any change, to ensure the accuracy of the information in the Ministry’s electronic system.

The controls included special exemptions from financial guarantees by ministerial decision for projects that add qualitative value to tourist destinations or provide job opportunities for citizens, to stimulate investment in areas targeted for tourism development.