Saudi Arabia offers tourist visas for first time

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia said on Friday it was offering tourist visas for the first time, opening up the ultra-conservative Islamic kingdom to holidaymakers as part of a push to diversify its economy away from oil.

The kingdom also eased 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, as authorities open up one of the last frontiers of global tourism. The push comes just under 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.

"We make history" today, tourism chief Ahmed al-Khateeb said in a statement. "For the first time, we are opening our country to tourists from all over the world." Citizens from 49 countries are eligible for online e-visas or visas on arrival, including the United States, Australia and several European nations, the statement said.

The conservative country, which forbids alcohol and is notorious for sex segregation, is seen as an unlikely destination for global tourists aside from Muslim pilgrims visiting holy sites. Tourism authorities have repeatedly said that Saudi Arabia will not permit alcohol. But Khateeb said there will be no restrictions on unaccompanied foreign women, who will also not be obliged to publicly wear an abaya even as they are expected to dress modestly.

Visas in the desert kingdom, endowed with rich bedouin heritage and archaeological sites, had until now been restricted to expat workers, their dependents and Muslim pilgrims travelling to holy sites in Makkah and Madina. Riyadh last year began issuing temporary visas to visitors to attend sporting and cultural events.