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Saudi Arabia to Establish Marketing Tourism Offices

The Red Sea project is one of the major tourist destinations in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Red Sea project is one of the major tourist destinations in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia to Establish Marketing Tourism Offices

The Red Sea project is one of the major tourist destinations in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Red Sea project is one of the major tourist destinations in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi Tourism Authority has set 24 plans that place Saudi Arabia as a top tourist destination on the local, regional, and global levels.
Last week, the Council of Ministers, headed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, approved the regulations of the Saudi Tourism Authority to play a crucial role in promoting Saudi Arabia as a top tourist destination on both regional and international levels.
- Establishing a database
According to the regulation, a copy of which was seen by Asharq Al-Awsat, the Authority achieved its goals in developing the necessary plans and policies for tourism marketing in the Kingdom, locally and internationally.
It must also promote destinations, propose developments in coordination with the Ministry of Tourism, and support and market events held by government agencies and the private sector.
The Authority will create a database of all available sites, tourist destinations, resorts, services, and events and update it periodically with the relevant authorities.
It will also be tasked with all Umrah-related promotions, including the development and management of its platform, in coordination with the relevant agencies.

Furthermore, the Authority will develop the necessary standards, tools, and mechanisms to measure visitor's experience and determine the priorities and challenges facing tourists. Reports will be shared with the Ministry.
The Authority will propose the necessary designs, policies, and procedures to prepare the development of tourist sites and destinations that need rehabilitation and submit them to the Ministry of Tourism.
- Marketing studies and research
Moreover, the Authority will work with the private sector to develop products and display them on platforms for local and global marketing.
It will prepare marketing studies and research on opportunities to develop the visitor experience in the Kingdom and cooperate with regional and international bodies and organizations.
The Authority must carry out marketing campaigns inside and outside the Kingdom to introduce tourism sites and products and register trademarks and any other intellectual property in its name, in accordance with the relevant regulations.
According to the new regulation, the Authority will develop media plans that support tourism marketing to be disseminated inside and outside the Kingdom.
It will also organize tourism forums, conferences, events, and exhibitions and participate.
- Small and medium enterprises
The Authority is scheduled to provide administrative, technical, and advisory assistance to tourism products' owners in the Kingdom and support small and medium enterprises in cooperation with the competent authorities.
It will also develop and implement training programs aimed at raising the efficiency of tourism marketing and contribute to the qualification and training of human cadres in this field.
Under the new regulations, the Authority will supervise media campaigns and advertisements promoting destinations and suggest investment opportunities that are required to improve the sector in the Kingdom.
It coordinates with the Ministry of Tourism, government agencies, and the private sector to develop a marketing policy for destinations and distribute tourism products outside the Kingdom to enhance the country's position as a global tourist destination.
- Tourist tracks

The Authority will determine the tourist tracks under the tourism sector strategy, in coordination with the Ministry, to ensure an experience consistent with the highest global standards.
The Minister of Tourism and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Tourism Authority, Ahmed al-Khateeb, said the approval of the Authority's regulations confirms the government's continued support to achieve the goals consistent with Vision 2030.
Khateeb emphasized that the significant growth witnessed by the Saudi Tourism Authority is a direct result of the Saudi leadership's commitment to organizing and supporting the tourism sector in general and the Authority in particular.
The Minister stressed that the leadership's support has also helped attract visitors worldwide, develop tourism products, empower the private tourism sector, and participate in the most important local and international tourism forums and events.
He asserted that this alignment with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 is a significant milestone for the tourism sector in Saudi Arabia.

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Business

Saudi Arabia Allows Contracting Exceptions for Firms without Regional HQ

The King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Allows Contracting Exceptions for Firms without Regional HQ

The King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia has introduced greater flexibility into its investment environment, allowing government entities, under strict controls to safeguard spending efficiency and ensure the delivery of critical projects, to seek exceptions to contract with international companies that do not have regional headquarters in the kingdom.

The Local Content and Government Procurement Authority notified all government bodies of the mechanism to apply for exemptions through the Etimad digital platform.

The step is designed to balance enforcement of the “regional headquarters relocation” decision, in force since early 2024, with the needs of technically specialized projects or those driven by intense price competition.

Under a government decision that took effect at the start of 2024, state entities, including authorities, institutions and government-affiliated funds, are barred from contracting with any foreign commercial company whose regional headquarters in the region is located outside Saudi Arabia.

According to the information, the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority informed all entities of the rules governing contracts with companies that lack a regional headquarters in the kingdom and related parties.

Government entities may request an exemption from the committee for specific projects, multiple projects or a defined time period, provided the application is submitted before launching a tender or initiating direct contracting procedures.

Submission mechanism

In two circulars, the authority detailed how to submit exemption requests and clarified the cases in which contracting is permitted under the controls. It said the exemption service was launched on the Etimad platform in November 2025.

The service is available to entities that float tenders through Etimad. Requests for tenders launched before the service went live, as well as those issued outside the platform, will continue to follow the previously adopted process.

Etimad is the kingdom’s official financial services portal run by the Ministry of Finance, aimed at driving digital transformation of government procedures and boosting transparency and efficiency in managing budgets, contracts, payments, tenders and procurement. The platform streamlines transactions between state entities and the private sector.

Technical criteria

When issuing the contracting controls, the government made clear that companies without a regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia, or related parties, are not barred from bidding for public tenders.

However, their offers can only be accepted in two cases: if there is no more than one technically compliant bid, or if the offer ranks among the best technically and is at least 25% lower in price than the second-best bid after overall evaluation.

Contracts with an estimated value of no more than 1 million riyals ($266,000) are also exempt. The minister may, in the public interest, amend the threshold, cancel the exemption or suspend it temporarily.

More than 700 headquarters

More than 700 multinational companies had relocated their regional headquarters to Riyadh by early 2026, exceeding the initial target of attracting 500 companies by 2030. The program seeks to cement the kingdom’s position as a regional business hub and to localize global expertise.

When announcing the contracting ban, Saudi Arabia said the move was intended to incentivize foreign firms dealing with the government and its affiliated entities to adjust their operations.

It aims to create jobs, curb economic leakage, raise spending efficiency and ensure that key goods and services procured by government entities are delivered inside the kingdom with appropriate local content.

The government said the policy aligns with the objectives of the Riyadh 2030 strategy unveiled during the recent Future Investment Initiative forum, where 24 multinational companies announced plans to move their regional headquarters to the Saudi capital.

It stressed that the decision does not affect any investor’s ability to enter the Saudi economy or continue working with the private sector.

 

Business

IMF Board to Review Staff-level $8.1 Bln Agreement for Ukraine

The city's downtown on a frosty winter day, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Alina Smutko
The city's downtown on a frosty winter day, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Alina Smutko
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IMF Board to Review Staff-level $8.1 Bln Agreement for Ukraine

The city's downtown on a frosty winter day, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Alina Smutko
The city's downtown on a frosty winter day, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Alina Smutko

The International Monetary Fund on Thursday said its board ​would review a staff-level agreement for a new $8.1 billion lending program for Ukraine in coming days.

IMF spokeswoman Jule Kozack told reporters that Ukrainian authorities had completed the prior actions needed to move forward with the request ⁠of a new ⁠IMF program, including submission of a draft law on the labor code and adoption of a budget.

She said Ukraine's economic growth in 2025 ⁠was likely under 2%. After four years of war, the country's economy had settled into a slower growth path with larger fiscal and current account balances, she said, noting that the IMF continues to monitor the situation closely.

"Russia's invasion continues to take a ⁠heavy ⁠toll on Ukraine's people and its economy," Kozack said. Intensified aerial attacks by Russia had damaged critical energy and logistics infrastructure, causing disruptions to economic activity, Reuters quoted her as saying.

As of January, she said, 5 million Ukrainian refugees remained in Europe and 3.7 million Ukrainians were displaced inside the country.

Business

US Stocks Fall as Iran Angst Lifts Oil Prices

A screen displays a stock chart at a work station on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, April 6, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
A screen displays a stock chart at a work station on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, April 6, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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US Stocks Fall as Iran Angst Lifts Oil Prices

A screen displays a stock chart at a work station on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, April 6, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
A screen displays a stock chart at a work station on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, April 6, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Wall Street stocks retreated early Thursday as worries over US-Iran tensions lifted oil prices while markets digested mixed results from Walmart.

US oil futures rose to a six-month high as Iran's atomic energy chief Mohammad Eslami said no country can deprive the Islamic republic of its right to nuclear enrichment, after US President Donald Trump again hinted at military action following talks in Geneva.

"We'd call this an undercurrent of concern that is bubbling up in oil prices," Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said of the "geopolitical angst."

About 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.6 percent at 49,379.46, AFP reported.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.5 percent to 6,849.35, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.6 percent to 22,621.38.

Among individual companies, Walmart rose 1.7 percent after reporting solid results but offering forecasts that missed analyst expectations.

Shares of the retail giant initially fell, but pushed higher after Walmart executives talked up artificial intelligence investments on a conference call with analysts.

The US trade deficit in goods expanded to a new record in 2025, government data showed, despite sweeping tariffs that Trump imposed during his first year back in the White House.