SRSA Achieves Qualitative Leaps in Navigational, Maritime Tourism Activities for Red Sea

Since its establishment on November 30, 2021, the Saudi Red Sea Authority (SRSA) has achieved qualitative leaps in the maritime and tourism activities for the Red Sea.

In line with goals of the Saudi Vision 2030, SRSA has embarked on a relentless endeavor that seeks to achieve its higher goals and strategic vision through a set of programs and plans.

This was indicated in the SRSA’s annual report for the year 2023, which listed the SRSA’s most prominent works and projects, including the approval of its Board of Directors of the sectoral and institutional coastal tourism strategy, including 6 goals, 24 performance measurement indicators, and 6 enablers, through which it aims to organize navigational and marine tourism activities within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s geographical scope and territorial waters on the Red Sea.

The most prominent tasks under the SRSA’s jurisdiction are the development of policies and strategies, the issuance of licenses and regulatory permits for navigational and marine tourism activities, while determining infrastructure requirements, developing a mechanism to protect the marine environment, attracting investment in navigational and marine tourism activities, and providing support to them, in addition to qualifying national competencies, determining the locations and routes for practicing these activities.

The report indicated that enhancing complementary roles among government agencies has been also among the major tasks of the SRSA as it led efforts with 19 public institutions that resulted in drafting the first map for tourism with the Kingdom geographical scope on the Red Sea.

The SRSA is also keen on incorporating environment protection as a constant pillar in all its work, as it is prerequisite to ensure the sustainability of marine life, and for future generations to enjoy healthy and prosperous natural resources. In order to preserve this marine treasure free from pollution and a home for diverse and thriving life, the SRSA has worked with the environmental system and relevant authorities to build a mechanism that ensures verification of environmental protection in the Red Sea.

The report also revealed the authority’s work and projects during the past year, which was a witness to its systematic work by developing a number of well-studied programs and plans that culminated in achieving a number of goals, the most prominent of which was the issuance of seven regulatory regulations, the first of their kind in the Kingdom in addition to granting the necessary licenses and permits to beneficiaries.

Regarding national initiatives, the authority worked during the same year on a number of national initiatives in alignment with 30 entities from the public and private sectors, through seven subcommittees with specific scopes of work and timelines to raise the readiness of coastal areas for tourism, and activate the implementation of mega projects, which resulted in a set of initiatives, including the organization, governance, and installation of mooring buoys, the marine waste management system, weather monitoring stations, regulations for marine activities, and improving the customer’s journey.

Regarding field visits, the report touched on raising the level of quality of customer service and maintaining a safe environment for yachts and visitors to the Red Sea, pointing out that the authority has carried out 14 field visits, which included to the city of Jeddah, Jazan, and Al-Lith for the purpose of granting licenses to operators of tourist marinas and tourist navigation agents, and providing the required technical, administrative, and advisory support to them. It identified and classified more than 3,200 tourist assets in The Red Sea is within the geographical scope of the Kingdom.

In accelerated steps, the report said that the SRSA has achieved speedy progress in the implementation of the targeted projects and activities for 2023, thanks to the endless support of the Kingdom’s leadership, which laid down the foundation of a comprehensive development and also to the complementary work of the public and private sectors in realization of the Saudi Vision 2030.