On May 2, 2026, the Saudi Tourism Commission （SCTA） updated the 《Approved Chinese Inbound Tour Operators List》, adding 12 Henan-based local reception travel agencies including Henan Le Travel Agency, and for the first time incorporating Luoyang and Kaifeng into Saudi Arabia's direct visa cooperation network for tourists. This move directly affects inbound tourism services, cross-border cultural and tourism cooperation, and the operation of Central Plains cultural routes, marking that demand from Saudi family tours and religious-cultural study groups for Henan's historical resources has entered a substantive implementation stage.

Event Overview

On May 2, 2026, the Saudi Tourism Commission （SCTA） officially released the latest edition of the 《Approved Chinese Inbound Tour Operators List》, adding 12 local reception travel agencies registered in Henan Province, including institutions such as Henan Le Travel Agency; among them, local agencies in Luoyang and Kaifeng were selected for the first time. Approved institutions can provide Saudi tourists with ‘visa-free interview + 48-hour electronic approval’ services, significantly shortening the inbound process cycle.

Which market segments will be affected

Inbound tourism local reception service enterprises

Henan local reception agencies approved for inclusion in the SCTA whitelist will directly undertake functions such as itinerary execution, transport scheduling, guided interpretation and reception, and emergency coordination for Saudi tourists in the Central Plains region. The impact is reflected in: higher business qualification thresholds, stricter service response timeliness requirements, and multilingual service capabilities （especially Arabic） becoming a rigid requirement.

Cultural and tourism route planning and product development enterprises

World cultural heritage sites and Song culture landmarks such as the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang and Millennium City Park in Kaifeng are becoming key destinations for Saudi family tours and religious-cultural study groups. The impact is reflected in: the need to accelerate the design of standardized product packages adapted to Saudi tourist preferences （such as family-friendly routes, halal dining connections, and prayer space arrangements）; existing single sightseeing routes need to be upgraded toward a composite model of ‘cultural immersion + lifestyle experience + religious background interpretation’.

Cross-border payment and compliance service enterprises

The SCTA whitelist mechanism is deeply tied to the electronic approval system, involving overseas fund settlement, foreign exchange declaration, electronic credential verification, and other links. The impact is reflected in: local reception agencies need to connect to payment and identity verification channels that comply with Saudi digital government interface standards; third-party compliance service providers need experience in interfacing with the SCTA system and the ability to support the performance of bilingual Chinese-Arabic contracts.

Regional cultural and tourism promotion and government cooperation institutions

The first-time inclusion of Luoyang and Kaifeng in the SCTA direct network means that the cultural and tourism authorities of both cities need to coordinate targeted promotion for the Saudi market, visa policy briefings, consular coordination, and joint marketing activities. The impact is reflected in: cross-department collaboration mechanisms （culture and tourism + foreign affairs + public security exit-entry administration） needing normalized operation; the progress of building standardized English/Arabic information databases for local cultural and tourism resources will affect the efficiency of subsequent cooperation.

What key points should relevant enterprises or practitioners pay attention to, and how should they respond at present

Pay attention to the subsequent operating rules and system interfacing guidelines released by SCTA

At present, only the fact of the whitelist update has been confirmed, but the application process for electronic approval, data interface specifications, abnormal handling mechanisms, and so on have not yet been made public. Relevant enterprises should continue tracking the SCTA official website and cultural-tourism cooperation notices from the Chinese Embassy in Saudi Arabia, and avoid relying on information from unofficial channels for business preparation.

Differentiate between policy signals and the actual pace of business conversion

The expansion of the whitelist is an institutional opening signal, but the scale of Saudi tourist arrivals is still constrained by practical conditions such as flight capacity, language service coverage, and the completeness of halal facilities. Enterprises should not immediately make large-scale investments in customized product development; priority should be given to completing basic service capability certification （such as Arabic-speaking guide qualifications and halal catering cooperation filing）, and then iteratively optimizing after feedback from the first group tours' field tests.

Start local supply chain adaptation preparations in advance

Prioritize sorting out directories of hotels, vehicles, restaurants, and medical support units within the Luoyang and Kaifeng areas that have Arabic-language service capabilities; verify whether existing partners meet SCTA compliance requirements for ‘receiving Saudi tourists’ （such as gender-separated routes and prayer area settings）, and establish a rapid-response contingency mechanism.

Simultaneously pay attention to progress in the joint working mechanism between China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism and SCTA

This whitelist adjustment is a concrete implementation action under the China-Saudi tourism cooperation framework. If subsequent arrangements such as joint promotion funds, mutual establishment of tourism offices, and extension of reciprocal visa facilitation appear, they will directly affect the level of enterprise participation and the direction of resource investment. It is recommended to designate dedicated personnel to track quarterly briefings from the cultural and tourism authorities of both countries and minutes of bilateral working group meetings.

Editorial Viewpoint / Industry Observation

Observably, this whitelist expansion should be understood more as a phased measure by Saudi Arabia to systematically expand cultural and tourism destinations in China's second- and third-tier cities, rather than an isolated act of supplementing qualifications. From an industry perspective, its core value lies not in short-term visitor growth, but in promoting the alignment of tourism service standards in the Central Plains region with the governance logic of mainstream international source markets; Analysis shows, the selection of Luoyang and Kaifeng is essentially SCTA's feasibility verification of “non-first-tier historic cities undertaking international cultural study functions”——and the result of this verification will affect the admission pace of places such as Xi'an, Datong, and Quanzhou in the future. What is more worthy of attention at present is: whether SCTA will replicate similar mechanisms to tourist groups from other Middle Eastern countries, and whether China's cultural and tourism authorities will optimize reverse incentive policies for the facilitation of outbound travel from inland cities accordingly.

Conclusion: this SCTA whitelist update is a clear institutional opening signal, and its industry significance lies in accelerating the alignment of the Central Plains cultural and tourism service chain with international standards, rather than immediately releasing large-scale tourist flows. At present, it is more appropriate to understand it as an “infrastructure readiness test”. Relevant parties should focus on capability building, rationally assess business rhythm, and avoid misjudging policy signals as the eve of a market explosion.

Information source notes：
Main source: official announcement on the Saudi Tourism Commission （SCTA） website, 《Approved Chinese Inbound Tour Operators List》 （updated edition of May 2, 2026）
Parts requiring continued observation: technical interfacing details of the SCTA electronic approval system, actual group formation data for the first batch of Saudi tourists to travel, and supporting measures from Chinese cultural and tourism authorities