Article 17 of the Saudi Tourism Law

The Tourism Law refers to the Regulations in many places, such as the rules on licensing and classification, financial guarantees, fees, visa procedures, and the working mechanism of the violations committee. As the Law defines them, the Regulations may be one regulation or more to implement its provisions.

This article sets two things:

• The issuing authority and its deadline: the Minister of Tourism issues the Regulations within 90 days of the Law's publication in the Official Gazette.
• When they take effect: the Regulations take effect from the date the Law takes effect, not from the date they are issued. So if they are issued before the Law takes effect, they apply only once the Law begins to apply.

The aim of linking the two dates is for the Law and its Regulations to begin to apply together, so the Law is not applied without the implementing details it referred to the Regulations.

After this article comes Article 18, which provides that this Law replaces the previous tourism law. To know the practical rules for a licensee or investor, the Regulations must be consulted alongside the Law.