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Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai

Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai
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Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai

Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai

Saudi Arabia, represented by the Tourism Authority, is participating in the 30th edition of the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, which will run until May 4, aiming to boost the Kingdom's position on the global tourism map and feature its destinations, experiences, products, and investment opportunities.

The Kingdom's pavilion hosts the largest Saudi delegation ever, with 67 partners of the Saudi tourism sector, in addition to more than 500 prime tourism packages and itineraries that are ready for immediate reservations, according to SPA.

The Kingdom's participation in the global tourism forum integrates with its efforts to become an easier and more entertaining travel destination, with increasing demand for bookings along the Red Sea coast and the southern highlands.

Saudi Arabia offers visitors various types of visas, such as the Umrah visa, transit visa, and family visit visa, in addition to making an electronic visa available to residents of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries without requiring specific professions. The on-arrival visa was also made available to citizens of the United States, the United Kingdom, and European Union countries, as well as holders of US, UK and Schengen visas.

Nusuk, the unified national platform for visitors to Makkah and Madinah destinations, is participating in the Saudi pavilion at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai with more than 20 partners representing the major Umrah companies, organizing trips, and providing services to the Umrah performers.

At the Arabian Travel Market, CEO and board member of the Saudi Tourism Authority Fahd Hamidaddin stated that Saudi Arabia today is the top investor globally in tourism and an ideal destination for major international tourism investors. He added that the number of visitors to the Kingdom who came for tourism, Umrah, and business purposes in the first quarter of this year exceeded what was achieved in the same period last year.

Saudi tourism has recorded an accelerated growth that reached 121% compared to the growth rates of international tourism in the pre-pandemic period, as the Kingdom achieved 93.5 million visits in 2022.

Today, the Kingdom is the largest investor in tourism in the world, by allocating more than $550 billion to major projects and new destinations to be inaugurated by 2030.

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US YouTuber Remains in Custody in India after Visiting Restricted Island with Diet Coke Can

FILE – Clouds hang over the North Sentinel Island, in India’s southeastern Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Nov. 14, 2005. (AP Photo/Gautam Singh, File)
FILE – Clouds hang over the North Sentinel Island, in India’s southeastern Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Nov. 14, 2005. (AP Photo/Gautam Singh, File)
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US YouTuber Remains in Custody in India after Visiting Restricted Island with Diet Coke Can

FILE – Clouds hang over the North Sentinel Island, in India’s southeastern Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Nov. 14, 2005. (AP Photo/Gautam Singh, File)
FILE – Clouds hang over the North Sentinel Island, in India’s southeastern Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Nov. 14, 2005. (AP Photo/Gautam Singh, File)

A 24-year-old American YouTuber who was arrested after visiting an off-limits island in the Indian Ocean with hopes of establishing contact with a reclusive tribe was further detained in custody on Thursday.

Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov will next appear before a local court in Port Blair -- the capital of India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands -- on April 29, police said.

Polyakov, from Scottsdale, Arizona, was arrested on March 31, two days after he set foot on the restricted territory of North Sentinel Island in a bid to meet people from the reclusive Sentinelese tribe.

“It may be claimed to be an adventure trip, but the fact is that there has been a violation of Indian laws. Outsiders meeting Sentinelese could endanger the tribe’s survival,” said a senior police officer, requesting anonymity as he isn’t authorized to speak about the case under investigation.

Polyakov is suspected of violating Indian laws that carry a possible sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine, The AP news reported.

Visitors are banned from traveling within 3 miles (5 kilometers) of North Sentinel Island, whose population has been isolated from the rest of the world for thousands of years. The inhabitants use spears and bows and arrows to hunt the animals that roam the small, heavily forested island. Deeply suspicious of outsiders, they attack anyone who lands onto their beaches.

In 2018, an American missionary who landed illegally on the beach was killed by North Sentinelese Islanders who apparently shot him with arrows and then buried his body on the beach. In 2006, the Sentinelese had killed two fishermen who had accidentally landed on the shore.

An official from the US consulate visited Polyakov in jail earlier this week. The US embassy in Delhi didn’t immediately respond to a request confirming the visit or any further updates on Polyakov.

Police said Polyakov had conducted detailed research on sea conditions, tides and accessibility to the island before starting his journey. He stayed on the beach for about an hour, blowing a whistle to attract the attention but got no response from the islanders.

The young American had twice attempted to visit the island in the past, and left a can of Diet Coke and a coconut as offering for the tribe this time after he failed to contact the Sentinelese. He shot a video of the island on his camera and collected some sand samples before returning to his boat.

On his return he was spotted by local fishermen, who informed the authorities and Polyakov was arrested in Port Blair, an archipelago nearly 750 miles (1,207 kilometers) east of India’s mainland.