Saudi Arabia is finally opening its doors to foreign tourists as part of economic and social reforms. Skeptics don’t see many wanting to visit an ultra-conservative country with a bad image in the West.
Saudi Arabia will for the first time offer tourist visas, opening the doors to the ultra-conservative kingdom as it implements social reforms and seeks to diversify the economy away from oil.
“Opening Saudi Arabia to international tourists is a historic moment for our country,” tourism chief Ahmed al-Khateeb said in a statement.
Citizens of 49 countries will be able to apply for online visas as of Saturday. More details on specific countries would be made available later on Friday, but China, Japan, Europe and the United States are targets.
Non-Muslims will remain banned from the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
