LONDON: Tour companies are already lining up to send holidaymakers to Saudi Arabia following a move to introduce visa-free travel to part of the Kingdom’s Red Sea coast.
UK-based Wild Frontiers has been advertising eight-day packages to Saudi Arabia for several months in the hope that the country’s closed tourism attractions might be opened up.
“There is huge pent up demand,” said marketing manager Michael Pullman. “This is fantastic news and we have a waiting list of people to go there. We have been taking bookings in expectation that this might happen.”
The Red Sea project is expected to include diving attractions, a nature reserve and luxury hotels.
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) said on Monday it would help to fund construction of the resort which was described as “a semi-autonomous area.”
Tourism is a key part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which seeks to reduce the country’s reliance on oil and gas revenues by developing new sectors such as retail, hospitality and manufacturing.
Tourism chiefs hope to attract new visitors to the country while also encouraging more domestic travel and keeping more of the money within the economy that would otherwise be spent by Saudis overseas.
The Red Sea project aims to provide a SR15 billion ($4 billion) boost to the economy and create some 35,000 jobs.
Wild Frontiers is one of several specialist tour operators that have been eagerly awaiting the opening up of the Kingdom’s tourism sector.
It already has a waiting list for its first eight-day tour, which is priced at £4,895 ($6,468).
“This is the kind of thing that really doesn’t happen very often,” said Pullman.
UK tour operator has waiting list for Saudi Red Sea trip
UK tour operator has waiting list for Saudi Red Sea trip
Millie Bobby Brown spotted in new advert for Yas Island in Abu Dhabi
DUBAI: British actress Millie Bobby Brown is starring in a new advert for entertainment destination Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
With a nod to “Stranger Things,” Brown is seen buckling into Formula Rossa, the world’s fastest rollercoaster alongside her husband Jake Bongiovi.
Moments before launch, she asks him about the speed, and when he replies “240 km an hour,” she makes a quick exit. The advert continues with lights flickering and Brown and other characters glitching with effects reminiscent of the hit Netflix series.
Created by the Duffer Brothers, “Stranger Things” debuted in 2016 and quickly became one of Netflix’s most popular series, with its fourth season amassing more than 140.7 million views globally.
The series has garnered over 70 awards worldwide, including Emmys and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
Brown was announced as a brand ambassador for Yas Island in November.
The Netflix show’s final season five is being released in stages. The first four episodes streamed on Nov. 26, and will be followed by three on Dec. 25, and the finale on New Year’s Eve.
In her first promotional clip for Yas Island, she is seen back in the Byers’ living room, made famous on the show, framed by the glow of the iconic alphabet wall that is a key element of the “Stranger Things” storyline.
In the video, she jokes about taking a holiday after five seasons of the show as the lights begin to flicker, illuminating one by one until they spell out “YAS.”
Brown is the latest celebrity to take on a role with Yas Island, following Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Hart and Jason Momoa, who were all “Chief Island Officers.”
The actors starred in a series of amusing adverts for the entertainment destination, including Reynolds appearing to skydive over Abu Dhabi.
