As Saudi Arabia steps up its diversification of the economy, the country will soon begin issuing tourist visas, opening up one of the last frontiers of global tourism —a sector touted as the kingdom’s “white oil”
Touring the desert kingdom
But the conservative country, notorious for sex segregation and its austere dress code, is seen as an unlikely destination for global tourists aside from Muslim pilgrims visiting holy sites in Mecca and Medina
Now in the midst of historic social change, the kingdom is seeking a place on the global tourism map by promoting sites such as the Al Wahbah crater, widely unheard of even within Saudi Arabia with the near absence of local tourism
When two mountains were passionately in love
The little-known crater, barely a four-hour drive from the western city of Jeddah, is a remnant of volcanic activity. Local folklore, however, has it as having been formed when two mountains were so passionately in love that one uprooted itself to unite with the other, leaving a bowl-shaped depression in its place, according to AFP. In recent months, authorities have built roads to the site and erected picnic shelters around the rim of the crater
Post-oil era
Tourism is one of the centrepieces of Vision 2030, the blueprint to prepare the biggest Arab economy for the post-oil era, which was conceived by powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In August, the kingdom announced a multi-million dollar project to turn 50 islands and other pristine sites on the Red Sea into luxury resorts
The kingdom aims to nearly double the annual number of tourists it attracts to 30 million by 2030, with the sector projected to become one of its top revenue earners. But its absolute ban on alcohol still makes it a hard sell for many global tourists, experts say