Cape Town to Saudi Arabia route on the cards
In an effort to grow tourism between the two countries, the SA government has proposed a Cape Town to Saudi Arabia direct route.
MORE ACCESS TO SAUDI ARABIA
Witht the recent resurgence of direct flights from Saudi Arabia to South Africa from 1 December, as well as the opening up of Saudi Arabian e-Visas to South Africa, the South African government are now looking for even more ways to strengthne tourism ties with the Middle Eastern nation.
One such way, Tourism Update reports, is a proposal that has been submitted for a direct flight between Cape Town and Saudi Arabia.
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Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille, said that direct flights and increased air access were essential to ensure ease of travel that would encourage travellers and help increase the performance of the tourism sector.
“A direct flight between Cape Town and Saudi Arabia will further boost our efforts to grow tourism, especially cultural and religious tourism that will bring great benefits for Hajj and Umrah travellers,” Minister de Lille said as per tourism update.
“We have been working closely with our counterparts in Saudi Arabia, through the Ministry of Tourism in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Air Connectivity Programme, and other stakeholders to grow tourism between South Africa and Saudi Arabia,” the Minister added.
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JOHANNESBURG ROUTE
DIRECT FLIGHTS
The restarted Saudi Arabia to Johannesburg route with the airline Saudia, formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines, officially kicked off on 1 December.
The airline announced back in March this year that in order to expand their international flight network, Saudi Air Connectivity Programme (ACP), the Saudi Tourism Authority and Saudia would launch flights to four new destinations around the globe, including Johannesburg, South Africa, Kano in Nigeria, Birmingham in the UK and Beijing, China.
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Between 1 December 2023 and 31 January 2024, there will be four weekly flights along the route, using the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.