Ministry of Tourism Raises Fines for Unlicensed Hospitality Operations to SR250,000

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Tourism has raised fines for operating hospitality facilities without a valid license. In first-tier cities — Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh, Jeddah, and Alkhobar — and major tourism sites like NEOM, The Red Sea, Diriyah, Amaala, and Qiddiya, penalties have increased from SR50,000 to SR250,000, with permanent closure until the violation is corrected. 

In second-tier cities such as Taif, Dammam, Abha, and others, fines rose to SR150,000. The fine for allowing others to use a tourism license also increased to SR60,000 for first-tier and SR55,000 for second-tier facilities.

Fines for obstructing tourism inspectors doubled: SR10,000 for first-tier and SR7,000 for second-tier facilities.

New rule mandates bilingual (Arabic and English) responses to tourists via phone or email.

Facilities get seven days to fix violations before fines apply:

SR6,000 for five-star/luxury hotels

SR5,000 for four-star hotels

SR2,000 for lower-rated serviced apartments

Violations below SR10,000 can be fined immediately by inspectors.

Offenses classified by severity — major violations include:

Operating without a license

Continuing after license suspension or expiry

Harming public safety or tourism reputation

Obstructing inspectors

Penalties depend on facility size, location, and violation severity.

Minor offenses get a warning and grace period; repeated violations within a year lead to doubled fines or license suspension/cancellation.

Saudi Arabia’s tourism framework now has three zones:

Tier 1: Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh, Jeddah, Alkhobar, and giga-projects (NEOM, The Red Sea, Diriyah, Amaala, Qiddiya)

Tier 2: Taif, Dammam, Abha, Jazan, Tabuk, Hail, Buraidah, Khamis Mushait, Jubail, Najran, Yanbu, Hafar Al-Batin, Al-Baha, Al-Hofuf, Sakaka

Tier 3: All other cities and governorates