Saudi Arabia to offer tourist visas for first time

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RIYADH, Sept 27, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Saudi Arabia said Friday it will offer
tourist visas for the first time, opening up the ultra-conservative kingdom
to holidaymakers as part of a push to diversify its economy away from oil.

Kickstarting tourism is one of the centrepieces of Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman’s Vision 2030 reform programme to prepare the biggest Arab economy
for a post-oil era.

The announcement comes just two weeks after devastating attacks on Saudi
Arabia’s oil infrastructure — blamed by Washington on Iran — which roiled
global energy markets and raised fears of a wider regional conflict.

“Opening Saudi Arabia to international tourists is a historic moment for
our country,” tourism chief Ahmed al-Khateeb said in a statement.

“Visitors will be surprised… by the treasures we have to share — five
UNESCO World Heritage Sites, a vibrant local culture and breathtaking natural
beauty.”

Saudi Arabia will open applications for online tourist visas to citizens
of 49 countries on Saturday, Bloomberg News quoted Khateeb as saying.

Khateeb said the kingdom will also ease its strict dress code for foreign
women, allowing them to go without the body-shrouding abaya robe that is
still mandatory public wear for Saudi women.

Foreign women, however, will be required to wear “modest clothing”, he
added, without elaborating.

Visas in the desert kingdom, endowed with rich bedouin heritage and
archaeological sites, are currently restricted to expat workers, their
dependents and Muslim pilgrims travelling to holy sites in Mecca and Medina.

– Hard sell –

In a rare move, Saudi Arabia last year began issuing temporary visas to
visitors to attend sporting and cultural events in a bid to kickstart
tourism.

But the austere kingdom, which forbids alcohol and has a strict social
code, is seen by many as a hard sell for tourists.

Prince Mohammed is seeking to change that through a sweeping
liberalisation drive that has brought new cinemas, mixed-gender concerts and
sporting extravaganzas to Saudi Arabia.

International criticism of the kingdom’s human rights record, including
the gruesome murder last year of critic Jamal Khashoggi and a crackdown on
female activists, could further put off foreign visitors, observers say.

Fears of a regional conflict after the September 14 attacks on state oil
giant Aramco may also dampen the kingdom’s appeal to holidaymakers.

The government, reeling from low oil prices, says it hopes tourism will
contribute up to 10 percent of the gross domestic product by 2030, compared
to three percent currently.

It says by 2030 it aims to attract up to 100 million annual visits by both
domestic and foreign tourists.

But the kingdom currently lacks the infrastructure to accomodate visitors
in such high numbers, with officials estimating 500,000 new hotel rooms will
be required nationwide over the coming decade.

The sector is expected to create up to one million tourism jobs, the
government says, as it battles high youth unemployment.

Saudi Arabia has splurged billions in an attempt to build a tourism
industry from scratch.

In 2017, the kingdom announced a multi-billion dollar project to turn 50
islands and other pristine sites on the Red Sea into luxury resorts.

Last year, construction of Qiddiya “entertainment city” was launched near
Riyadh, which would include high-end theme parks, motor sport facilities and
a safari area.

The country is also developing historic sites such as the centuries-old
Mada’in Saleh, home to sandstone tombs of the same civilisation which built
the Jordanian city of Petra.