Saudi Arabia To Offer Tourist Visas For The First Time, Eases Strict Dress Code For Foreign Women

Saudi Arabia made a very significant announcement on Friday. The Gulf country announced that tourist visas will be issued for the first time to visitors from 49 countries around the world, opening up the conservative kingdom to tourists as part of a push to diversify its economy away from oil. Tourism chief Ahmed Al-Khateeb said the Kingdom will also ease its strict dress code for foreign women, allowing them to go without the abaya robe that is still mandatory public wear for Saudi women. But the kingdom, which forbids alcohol and has a strict social code, is seen by many as a hard sell for tourists.