Saudi Arabia will open its doors to international tourists under a new visa
system that allows people from 49 countries to apply for e-visas and visas on
arrival.
However, no black African nation, including Nigeria, is included in the
offer.
The chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage,
Ahmad Al-Khateeb, said the move was part of the kingdom’s efforts to wean its
economy off oil.
The tourist visa system will take effect from Saturday.
Citizens of Germany, the United States and China are among those who are eligible
to use the new system.
Tourists will be allowed to stay for up to three months per entry but can
only spend a maximum of 90 days a year using their one-year multiple-entry
visa.
Saudi Arabia has long been one of the hardest countries for tourists to
enter, with visas granted only for short-term business trips, religious
pilgrimage, or for travelers with family in the country.
The ultra-conservative kingdom is on a push to attract holiday makers.
The kingdom’s guidelines for tourists does not specify a dress code for
women, saying that it is not mandatory for a woman to cover her hair or wear
the long, loose garments known as abaya.
“Both men and women are asked to dress modestly in public,” and women
“should cover shoulders and knees,” the kingdom said.
The kingdom hopes that by 2030, the tourism sector would contribute more
than 10 per cent towards the kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP), compared
to three percent now.
The tourism announcement comes less than two weeks after drone attacks
targeted two facilities operated by Saudi state oil giant Aramco in the eastern
province of Buqyaq, forcing the kingdom to halt about half its oil supplies
afterwards.
