Riyadh (AFP)
Saudi Arabia announced that it will grant multiple-entry visas to all holders of the “Haya” card for fans of the football World Cup scheduled for the end of the year in Qatar, in an effort to attract them to visit it and revive the tourism and hospitality sectors.
The World Cup finals will be held at the end of this year from November 20 to December 18, for the first time in the Arab world and the Middle East.
The “Haya Fan” card is a mandatory personal identification document for fans to attend the football wedding matches.
And the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a statement that the Kingdom will “allow holders of the Haya fan card to enter the Kingdom ten days before the start of the World Cup, after obtaining an electronic visa.”
She explained that “holders of an entry visa can reside in the Kingdom for a period of 60 days,” noting that it allows “entry into and exit from the Kingdom several times during the validity period of the visa.”
The Saudi decision comes in an effort to benefit economically from the large number of fans expected to attend the World Cup matches, and to revive its tourism and hospitality sectors.
Qatar expects 1.2 million people to visit the Gulf country during the World Cup period, and many fans have expressed concerns about the limited availability of accommodation and travel.
With increasing pressures on Qatar to find housing and rooms for hundreds of thousands of fans, Saudi and Kuwaiti airlines, “Fly Dubai” and Oman Air will operate more than 160 daily flights, starting from November 20, to go and return within 24 hours to and from Doha to follow the matches.