The following words and phrases - wherever they appear in this Regulation - shall have the meanings specified next to each, unless the context of the text indicates otherwise:
Law: Tourism Law.
Regulation: Travel and Tourism Services Regulation.
Ministry: Ministry of Tourism.
Minister: Minister of Tourism.
Travel and Tourism Services: Arrangement, organization, and provision of services in the field of tourism, including trips, tourism programs, selling travel tickets from licensed companies and marketing them, providing visa issuance services or other travel-related services, arranging tourism activity services, or hospitality facilities and their reservations, and so forth.
License: A document issued by the Ministry that enables its holder to practice travel and tourism services activities.
Licensee: Any legal entity that has obtained a license from the Ministry in accordance with the Law and Regulation.
Travel and Tourism Services Office: The place through which the licensee conducts travel and tourism services activities, whether it is a building or an electronic site.
Main Office: The travel and tourism services office through which the management and organization of the branch office affiliated with the licensee is conducted.
Branch Office: The travel and tourism services office that is administratively and organizationally subordinate to the main office.
Tourism Hospitality Facility: Any place that provides overnight accommodation for tourists for a fee, operating either permanently or temporarily.
Private Tourism Hospitality Facility: An independent furnished real estate unit owned by an individual licensed by the Ministry, providing daily accommodation services for tourists for a fee.
Tourist Guidance: The practice of guiding tourists in the tourist destination and elsewhere.
Tourist Destination: Any geographical area (or site) where tourism activities are practiced or targeted, or that contains tourism components, as defined under Article (6) of the Law.
Tourism Program: A set of tourism services that are prepared and/or implemented during a trip or several trips by the travel and tourism service provider for a fee, within a specific time period, and is approved by the Ministry.
Tourist: An individual who stays for tourism purposes for no less than one night outside their usual place of residence in a lawful manner for tourism, or benefits from one or more of the tourism and complementary specialized activity services.
Booking Document: The contract concluded by the licensee with the service requester to provide one or more of the services for which they are licensed.
Procedural Guidelines: A document that includes instructions, guidelines, standards, or others to determine the detailed procedures complementing the Regulation in accordance with the provisions of the Law and its regulations.
Official Address: The address registered in the license, or the national address, or the contact means of the activity practitioner - in all its forms - that the Ministry has obtained.

The Regulation organizes the practice of travel and tourism services, specifies the procedures, controls, and requirements for obtaining the necessary License to practice it, and outlines its controls and conditions. It also defines the ongoing Obligations of the licensee and the general provisions.

The practice of travel and tourism services is not permitted without obtaining a license, or after its expiration, cancellation, or during the period of its suspension.
 

• The category of licensing for travel and tourism services is as follows:

• 1- Category (Hospitality Unit Reservations): This is limited to providing marketing services for reservations of tourist hospitality facilities and managing them.

• 2- Category (Organizing Tourist Trips): This is limited to providing the following services:

  • A- Arranging accommodation services in tourist hospitality facilities.

  • B- Arranging tourist guiding services.

  • C- Arranging catering services in the tourist program.

  • D- Arranging and executing ground services for tourists such as reception and farewell, luggage transfer, and similar services.

  • E- Arranging car rental services with or without a driver.

  • F- Arranging insurance services for tourists.

  • G- Arranging booking and visit services for events, exhibitions, conferences, museums, reserves, markets, restaurants, and others.

  • H- Arranging and marketing educational or therapeutic services outside the Kingdom, as approved by the relevant authorities.

  • I- Preparing all types of tourist programs for those in the Kingdom, marketing them, and executing them.

• 3- Category (Travel and Tourism Agency): This is limited to providing the following services:

  • A- Selling travel tickets to and from the Kingdom through transportation means on behalf of transportation companies, including selling related services.

  • B- Arranging accommodation services in tourist hospitality facilities.

  • C- Arranging insurance services for tourists.

  • D- Marketing the tourist program.

  • E- Arranging visa issuance services for travel outside the Kingdom.

  • F- Arranging services for issuing international driving licenses and similar documents.

• 4- Category (General Travel and Tourism Services): This is limited to providing the following services:

  • A- All services mentioned in the categories listed in paragraphs (3, 2, 1) of this article.

  • B- Marketing tourist destinations.

  • C- Arranging visa issuance services for those wishing to come to the Kingdom.

  • D- Preparing all types of tourist programs for those wishing to come to the Kingdom, marketing them, and executing them.

  • E- Arranging transportation services (land, sea, and air) for hire, of various sizes and seating capacities, in coordination with transportation means.

When applying for a license from the Ministry, the following must be provided:
1- A valid commercial registration including the required travel and tourism services activity category.
2- A valid license from the Ministry of Municipal and Housing Affairs or the competent authority - as applicable -, and it is sufficient to document the website for those providing the service electronically only for the categories mentioned in paragraphs (3, 2, 1) of Article (Four).
3- The official data of the applicant, the travel and tourism services office, and its representative in dealings with the Ministry - if any -.
4- Proof of the right to use the trademark - if any -.
5- Providing a financial guarantee in accordance with Article (Thirteen) of the Regulation.
The applicant must fill out the license application form prepared by the Ministry.

Article Six:
The Ministry shall, after providing the requirements stated in Article (Five) of the Regulation in the license application and paying the financial fee according to the attached financial fee schedule of this Regulation, issue the license.
 

1- The license must contain the licensee's information, its category, the date of issuance and expiration, and any other information specified by the Ministry.
2- The duration of the license shall not exceed (3) years, and it is renewable.
 

An independent license must be obtained for each branch office, and it shall be of the same category as the main office. The application for the license for the branch office is exempt from the condition stated in paragraph (5) of Article (5) of the regulation.