Saudi Arabia has pitched six of its famous tourist attractions to the world, as the kingdom plans to present itself as a destination beyond religious experiences.

“Saudi Arabia is an experience,” Dr Omar Ayoub, the assistant general manager at Zamzam.com aka Kizan Tourism, told Aaj News after the first networking event in Pakistan earlier this week.

Ayoub’s organisation is a partner of the Saudi Tourism Authority. Tourism is one of the key pillars at the heart of Saudi Vision 2030’s plan to help diversify the economy and reduce reliance on oil. The event was held to invite visitors to see the kingdom’s beauty, cultural diversity and heritage.

“I always put it in words that Saudi is an experience to live. You can see pictures and videos but then it comes down to the sentiment. You have to be there to understand to feel the emotional touch that you get to have in Saudi Arabia,” he said.

Saudi Arabia is home to two of the holiest sites in Islam Makkah and Madinah where annually millions of pilgrims come to perform the Hajj and Umrah. But the kingdom has relaxed its visa rules for pilgrims and in last year expanded its e-visa programme to Türkiye, Thailand, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Seychelles, and Mauritius.

In 2022, the government announced that women no longer require a male guardian to travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah. The duration of the visa provided to foreign pilgrims was also extended to three months. They can use it to travel to other places in the kingdom.

The six places shared at the event were Jeddah, Riyadh, Al Ula, Taif, Abha, and Damam and Khokbar.

Ayoub Jeddah, the second biggest city, is a coastal area. He shared that he had found a harmonious feeling about Karachi and Jeddah as both sites are coastal cities, with similar temperatures in winter and summer.

Damam is close to Bahrain and Abha is next to the southern part of the country. He shared that the Gulf country is home to six UNESCO declared sites and home the world’s largest flag pole. According to Ayoub, the country was in the process of building the world’s tallest building.

“Now with the visa conditions that have been eased up and there are multiple options through which you can apply for the Saudi visa and you can come to Saudi to enjoy different delicacies, culinary, and cultural heritages that Saudi has to offer,” he said.

When asked about whether it is open to pilgrims, he replied in affirmative and added that the kingdom was open to everything.