On 2026年4月24日, the Saudi Tourism Commission (SCTA) officially included 12 local destination management companies across Luoyang, Anyang, and Kaifeng in Henan in the qualification whitelist channel for Saudi group visas. This adjustment is directly related to the compliance and delivery efficiency of Middle Eastern market tour operators purchasing Central Plains cultural routes, and has a substantive impact on detailed links in the outbound tourism service chain such as local ground handling execution, development of extended tour products for Muslim families, and cross-border cultural and tourism collaboration.

Event Overview

On 2026年4月24日, the Saudi Tourism Commission (SCTA) issued an announcement confirming that a total of 12 local destination management companies in Luoyang, Anyang, and Kaifeng, Henan Province, were included in the qualification whitelist channel for group tourism visas to Saudi Arabia. Authorized local destination management companies can connect directly to the SCTA visa system and enjoy expedited visa review services (completed within 3 working days). This measure does not involve any adjustment to individual visa policies, nor does it expand the scope of visa-free entry or visa on arrival. It only grants direct group visa submission rights to certified local service providers.

Which market segments are affected

Outbound tourism destination management service providers

Local destination management companies that obtain access qualifications can bypass traditional intermediary layers and submit group visa applications directly through the SCTA system, shortening the average processing cycle for each group visa application; at the same time, this reduces the risk of document errors, omissions, and visa rejections caused by transfer operations. The impact is mainly reflected in three dimensions: business response speed, service pricing flexibility, and customer trust.

Middle East market tour operators (especially institutions focused on Hajj & Umrah extended tours)

Previously, Central Plains cultural routes were often difficult to incorporate into itineraries before and after pilgrimage for Muslim families due to low visa coordination efficiency and insufficient qualification compatibility. After this whitelist coverage, the compliance cost of purchasing Henan ground handling services will decline, and delivery certainty will improve, helping optimize the composite product structure of “religion + culture”.

Cultural and tourism product design and distribution companies

Product suppliers with cross-regional resource integration capabilities can quickly combine Central Plains cultural corridor routes such as “Zhengzhou—Luoyang—Kaifeng—Xi’an” based on the whitelist qualifications of the three cities, and carry out themed packaging matched to the characteristics of Saudi visitor sources. The impact is mainly reflected in a shortened route development cycle, stronger feasibility for customized small-group tours, and improved capacity to fill low-season product offerings.

Cross-border tourism compliance and system service providers

Ground handling system service providers that need to adapt to the SCTA direct connection interface, multi-country visa coordination platforms, and third-party institutions providing visa compliance training may see phased growth in service demand as the whitelist expands. The impact is mainly reflected in changes in interface call frequency, timeliness of localized support responses, and utilization rates of qualification review support services.

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

Pay attention to whether SCTA will subsequently expand the whitelist to local destination management companies in other non-capital cities

This round only covers three historical and cultural cities in Henan that are not provincial capitals, making it a regional pilot. What is more worth watching at present is whether SCTA will launch the selection of a second batch of cities within 2026, and whether the evaluation criteria will tilt toward indicators such as “density of intangible cultural heritage resources” and “completeness of Muslim reception facilities”.

Distinguish between policy authorization and the actual pace of business implementation

Whitelist qualification only resolves the issue of system access authority and does not automatically bring order growth. Relevant local destination management companies need to simultaneously verify their own capacity in practical links such as Arabic-language service capability, halal catering and accommodation resource coordination, and transportation scheduling during pilgrimage seasons, so as to avoid idle qualifications.

Prioritize sorting out the existing cooperation foundation with Middle Eastern tour operators

Ground handling agencies that have already established cooperative relationships with travel agencies in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and other places should synchronize the qualification update status with their counterparts as soon as possible, and provide standardized SCTA direct connection operation guidelines and visa processing time commitment templates to accelerate business conversion.

Prepare in advance the mapping of data fields for the SCTA system and the adaptation of internal processes

The direct connection system requires application information to comply with SCTA field specifications (such as passport page scan file formats, itinerary code rules, team leader qualification upload paths, etc.). Relevant companies should complete revisions to internal operation manuals and practical training for frontline staff before 5月末 to avoid the first batch of applications being returned due to technical details.

Editor’s Viewpoint / Industry Observation

From an industry perspective, this whitelist expansion is better understood as a partial supporting move by Saudi Arabia to promote the “diversification of cultural destinations”, rather than an overall shift in visa policy. It has not yet changed the mainstream visa pathway for Chinese citizens traveling to Saudi Arabia, but it sends a clear signal: SCTA is trying to improve the precision of its response to “cultural consumption during non-pilgrimage periods” among high-net-worth Muslim families by extending downward to prefecture-level service nodes. From an observational perspective, its value lies not in immediate order growth, but in building a reusable docking model between “local cultural and tourism resources” and “international religious tourism scenarios”. The industry needs to continue paying attention to whether similar mechanisms will later be extended and replicated in Silk Road cities such as Shaanxi and Gansu.

Conclusion: This event marks the first time that China’s regional ground handling service capabilities have been incorporated into Saudi Arabia’s official visa cooperation system, and is a concrete entry point for Central Plains cultural resources to participate in the international division of labor in religious tourism. At present, it is more appropriate to understand it as a mechanism-based breakthrough with demonstration significance, rather than a market-scale inflection point. Relevant stakeholders should pragmatically advance system adaptation and channel coordination, and avoid overinterpreting policy spillover.

Information source note:
Main source: Official announcement of the Saudi Tourism Commission (SCTA) on 2026年4月24日 (English version)
Items requiring continued observation: whether SCTA will launch the selection of a second batch of whitelist cities within 2026; the actual volume of direct visa applications submitted by local destination management companies in the three cities and data on average visa processing time