Saudi Arabia suspends fees for hotels, resorts commercial licenses

Majed Al Hogail, Minister of Municipalities and Housing

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Municipalities and Housing Majed Al Hogail issued a decision to cancel the fees for issuing a commercial activities license for hotels, hotel apartments, and residential resorts, effective today, Wednesday.

The move is part of the ongoing efforts to facilitate municipal procedures and services in Saudi cities, aimed at developing the tourism sector and raising the quality of tourism services for citizens, residents and tourists. It will further provide an attractive investment environment for investors and enhance competitiveness in the sector, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The decision aligns with the objectives of Vision 2030, which is to make the Kingdom one of the most prominent tourist destinations globally. It also contributes to developing the tourism sector, raising the quality of tourism services, and encouraging investors to invest in the tourism sector and benefit from promising investment opportunities. It will also develop the sector’s infrastructure, especially with regard to hospitality facilities and reduce operating costs.

The Ministries of Municipalities & Housing and Tourism called on investors in the tourism sector to benefit from the decision by issuing or renewing commercial activity license for hotels, hotel apartments and residential resorts via Balady platform by visiting the link https://balady.gov.sa/ar.

The ministries also confirmed organizing workshops, as well as introductory and awareness-raising sessions for owners of hotels, hotel apartments and residential resorts to explain and clarify the decision and to provide the necessary support and advice to investors in the tourism sector.

The decision will support investors and encourage them to invest in the tourism sector, which creates new job opportunities and increases the sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product. It is also considered one of the investment enablers initiatives in the tourism sector, launched last March, to facilitate investment in Saudi tourism.