SHAFAQNA- Saudi Arabia has announced it will offer tourist visas for the first time to travelers who want to visit the kingdom for more than religious reasons.
The new visa programme for citizens of 49 countries, including the UK and the US, was announced by Saudi tourism officials, quickly followed by a Twitter campaign exhorting users to @VisitSaudiNow.
The kingdom – which has imprisoned and tortured women’s rights activists, carries out regular public executions, and was responsible for the high-profile murder of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Kashoggi – has said it is opening up to holidaymakers as part of a push to diversify its economy away from oil, The Guardian told.
The kingdom says allowing more foreign visitors is “a key milestone.” It is seeking to increase international and domestic visits to 100 million a year by 2030, by which time it aims to have tourism contributing up to 10% of gross domestic product compared to the current 3%.
The one-year, multiple-entry visa scheme unveiled late Friday allows for stays of up to 90 days at a time, and marks the first time the country is allowing foreigners to visit solely for the purpose of tourism. Until now, visitor visas were issued for specific reasons such as for Muslim religious pilgrimages, to visit family or for business.
The visa information website indicated an easing of strict dress codes for visiting women, requiring shoulders and knees to be covered but not demanding they wear the full-body abaya.
For the launch of its new visa, the country was highlighting five UNESCO World Heritage sites, contemporary art sites and natural beauties including the Red Sea, desert and mountains, pbs reported.
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, accourding to france 24.