The Saudi Red Sea Authority (SRSA) has launched an Introductory Guide to Coastal Tourism Activities that is being billed as a “first-of-its-kind” digital gateway that will help to grow the sector. Called EBHAR, which means “to impress” or “dazzle” in Arabic, it is designed to address gaps in information and streamline various sources into a single electronic reference.
In a press release, the SRSA says the guide provides tourists, investors, and practitioners with “one comprehensive digital access point for all relevant information, regulations, and procedures,” a development that represents “a qualitative leap in the SRSA’s efforts to enhance the coastal tourism sector, increase its attractiveness, and establish a clear, unified reference framework for coastal tourism activities.”
The #SaudiRedSeaAuthority has launched the #IntroductoryGuideforYachting to be your trusted compass for sailing with confidence.
— الهيئة السعودية للبحر الأحمر (@RedSeaSaudi) January 4, 2026
The guide provides everything needed to support this activity, ensuring a safe and sustainable maritime experience along the Red Sea coast.
Learn… pic.twitter.com/2MXCE58kvw
Like other Arabian Peninsula states, Saudi Arabia continues its pivot towards tourism, and the EBHAR platform is part of that drive. Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has said the country “aspires to position the Red Sea as a global benchmark for best practices in the blue economy, and to become a global pioneer in research, development, and innovation in this field.”
With the EBHAR guide, the SRSA aims to allow coastal tourism stakeholders, whether tourists, investors, or practitioners, to access all relevant details, including updated requirements, conditions, and procedures, in one place. What’s more, “smart links” direct users to the official platforms of competent authorities responsible for the requested service—an approach to shorten processing times and “transform the information seeking journey into a smooth, reliable, and fully integrated digital experience.” The guide also includes a Frequently Asked Questions section, along with advice on permitted and prohibited practices.
The first series of the guide is already in the public domain and is dedicated to yachting activities, offering what the SRSA claims is “a clear and practical end-to-end pathway for a yacht’s journey from arrival to departure.” It includes procedures, documentation, licenses and permits, mechanisms for choosing and confirming the port of entry (port/marina) through a licensed agent, as well as directories of approved service providers (maritime tourism agents, yacht charter companies, and marinas). The guide further incorporates safety and environmental sustainability guidelines, and will feature updates on regulations, helping users to ensure compliance, receive feedback and handle complaints in line with requirements.
Travel Tomorrow spoke to Experience Designer and leisure sailor Tom Wellings, who reviewed the site and called it “a good initiative in what seems to be an early iteration.” He noted the “large chunk of complex official jargon” rather than Plain English on the landing page, how challenging it is to navigate to the right information, and supposed “smart links” that currently take users to PDFs rather than digitised web pages. In addition, when the language is set to English, reading direction for some icons remains right-to-left, though this does not present a major issue, in his view.
EBHAR is the result of intensive coordination efforts led by the SRSA and is a step towards better integration of the coastal tourism sector, which the Authority recognises as one of the key drivers of tourism growth as per the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.
