Saudia told about the plans in the Russian market after the launch of the flight to Moscow

The management of the Saudi national carrier Saudia expects that more than 80% of passengers from Russia on direct flights to Riyadh will come directly to the kingdom, rather than transit to third countries. Khaled Tash, Marketing Director of the Saudia Group, told Izvestia at the opening ceremony of direct flights to Moscow.

"We aim to ensure that most of our passengers from Moscow to Riyadh come to our country and stay on vacation in Saudi Arabia. But even those tourists from Russia who will fly in transit to third countries should not just spend a few hours in the transit area of the airport. Our goal is for most of them to stay in the kingdom for two or three days during the transfer and get acquainted with our sights and culture," said a representative of the airline Saudia.

The carrier has prepared a stopover program specifically for transit passengers, which, according to Khaled Tash, provides for a free night at a hotel in Riyadh, a cultural program in the capital, as well as the opportunity to apply for a special transit visa, which is "much cheaper than usual, and in some cases completely free."

"Saudi Arabia is currently going through a new period of its development. Thanks to the reforms carried out by our government, aimed, among other things, at lifting those restrictions and prohibitions that we had and were unusual for citizens of other countries, we are opening up to the world and are aiming to attract travelers from various countries, including Russia, to our country," said Tash.

Speaking about the changes taking place in the country, the airline's representative said that, for example, in tourist resort areas, primarily on the beaches of the Red Sea, guests of the kingdom no longer need closed bathing suits.

"I can assure Russians that they can relax and dress on the beaches of our resorts in the same way as they are used to vacationing in other countries of the world," the representative of Saudia emphasized.

In addition, restaurants of a wide variety of cuisine are opening en masse in the country, which was practically not the case in the kingdom before.

But at the same time, the source emphasizes, Saudi Arabia is trying to avoid excessive tourism. "Our strategy is that we allocate special areas, for example, on the Red Sea, in other places where the flow of tourists will not be so powerful that it will affect the lives of citizens of our country," explained Tash.

Flights are being launched between Russia and Saudi Arabia. What you need to know

On October 10, the Saudi airline Saudia began flights between Riyadh and Moscow (Sheremetyevo Airport). The airline will operate three flights a week — on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Russia, Sami Al-Sadhan, at the welcoming ceremony of the first Saudia aircraft in Moscow, called the launch of direct flights "an important step in the development of relations between the countries."

Earlier, on September 2, the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation reported that Russia and Pakistan are working on the issue of opening direct flights between the countries. It is noted that multimodal routes are being worked out. In 2024, trial transportation by road was carried out between Russia and Pakistan.

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