Last week, the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) and JCB International (JCB) announced a historic deal that would promote Saudi tourism by reaching out to JCB cardholders around the world.
"This is a great opportunity for our tourism industry, as it will offer more convenience and security for Japanese travelers and other Asian tourists who prefer cashless payment channels," said Alhasan Aldabbagh, president of Asia Pacific markets for the Saudi Tourism Authority. We are confident that this partnership will help our goal of becoming a major global tourism center and increase Saudi Arabia's appeal as a travel destination for tourists from around the world.
The alliance with JCB should open up many doors for Saudi Arabia and Japan to work together. Notably, Japan is one of the 57 nations that are eligible for Saudi Arabia's e-visa and visa-on- arrival programs, with extra perks like a complimentary one-night hotel stay for travelers flying onward with the national airline SAUDIA as part of Saudi Arabia's 96-hour Stopover Visa program.
Other initiatives include the VisitSaudi.ja webpage in Japanese, which runs cooperative marketing campaigns with top tourism industry partners to advertise the nation to Japanese tourists. They can benefit from exclusive hotel rates provided by regional destination management companies (DMCs) and take advantage of tempting vacation packages, which invite them to explore real Arabia on their terms.
Yoshiki Kaneko, CEO of JCB International, stated his excitement for the collaboration: "This is a terrific opportunity for us to promote interesting travel experiences to Saudi for our cardmembers. Saudi Arabia is a special place with amazing nature, culture, and history, much like Japan.
To ensure that the 154 million cardholders of JCB have a flawless experience in Saudi, he continued, "We've been working closely with the leading local banks in Saudi, such as SNB, Alinma Bank, Riyad Bank, ANB, and Bank Al Jazira on merchant and ATM enablement."
Through this agreement, Saudi Arabia and Japan will be able to improve tourism, make travel easier, and promote greater cultural interchange.