The Saudi Tourism Authority has joined forces with Alibaba Cloud, the technology arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, to boost the tourism sector in the kingdom.
The tie-up aims to create a "seamless experience" for Chinese tourists coming to Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s biggest economy, according to a state-run Saudi Press Agency report.
Alibaba Cloud will also offer technical support to STA as it promotes the kingdom as a tourist destination for residents of the world's most populous nation.
“As Saudi [Arabia] continues to develop its leisure tourism offering for local, regional and international audiences, STA is building a digital infrastructure which can provide the destination with a competitive edge and visitors with the best possible experience,” Fahd Hamidaddin, STA’s chief executive, said in a statement to SPA.
“By collaborating with Alibaba Cloud, we will break new ground in the regional tourism sector and position Saudi at the forefront of efforts to modernise the wider global tourism eco-system,” he said.
Tourism development is an important pillar in Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the kingdom's economy and reduce its reliance on oil.
Riyadh wants to boost the tourism sector’s contribution to the country's gross domestic production to 5.3 per cent by 2022 and create 836,000 new jobs in the sector. Over the long term, the kingdom plans the sector to account for more than 10 per cent of its economy and create more than a million new jobs by 2030.
Under the new pact, Alibaba Cloud will use "advanced, secure and reliable" cloud services to create an "improved digital experience for Chinese tourists".
“This collaboration brings together two key actors in the tourism sector who can set a new standard for providing a travel experience like no other,” said Selina Yuan, general manager of international business at Alibaba Cloud, SPA reported.
“With Alibaba Cloud leading the digital transformation of tourism and Saudi’s unique destinations, this is a combination that will help to re-invigorate the tourism sector.”
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
