Saudi Arabia plans tourist destination on NW Red Sea coast

[newcastle]

No visa, no veil? Saudi Arabia may ease rules for tourists

By Aya Batrawy | AP August 1 at 8:53 AM

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia plans to build a “semi-autonomous” visa-free travel destination along its northwestern Red Sea coast where restrictions on women’s dress, gender segregation and other conservative norms could be waived.

The Red Sea project will include diving attractions and a nature reserve, with some areas resembling the luxury hotels, islands and lagoons of the Maldives. The Saudi Commission for Tourism did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for more details on the rules that will govern tourists at the Red Sea resort.


The sovereign wealth fund developing the project is headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the young prince who in June was named heir to the throne by his father King Salman. The prince is overseeing a dramatic overhaul of the economy to lessen its dependence on oil exports for revenue.


Tourism is a key part of the prince’s Vision 2030 plan. The plan aims to diversify and modernize Saudi society and the economy, and includes plans for keeping some of the Saudi money spent abroad each year in the country. It also calls for raising tourism revenues outside of the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, which Saudi Arabia oversees.

The Red Sea project aims to specifically generate 15 billion Saudi riyals ($4 billion) annually to Saudi Arabia’s economy and create 35,000 jobs.

Already, the ultraconservative country has opened its doors to more entertainment in order to generate more local spending and appease the country’s burgeoning youth population. The PIF is the main investor in a Six Flags theme park that is expected to be built in a new entertainment city that will be the first of its kind in the kingdom.

The fund said the Red Sea project will be built along 125 miles (200 kilometers) of coastline and is tailored toward global luxury travelers and those seeking wellness travel, a genre of tourism associated with personal well-being and health.


Among the attractions will be protected coral reefs, dormant volcanoes, a nature reserve inhabited by rare wildlife like Arabian leopards and falcons, and trips to Saudi Arabia’s ancient ruins of Mada’in Saleh, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Also on offer will be parachuting, trekking and rock climbing.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business ... ba5b6abac5

The project could mean serious competition for Egypt's Red Sea resorts.....Sharm el Sheikh, Hurghada, Marsa Alam etc. particularly if the Saudis go "upmarket".

I see no mention of alcohol. Making the autonomous region "dry" would be a problem for many non-islamic visitors.

Presumably public executions would not be on the list of "things to see".

[carrie]

With the decline in oil revenues Saudi has to diversify, from what I have read of the Crown Prince he seems more progressive and forward thinking, he is strictly against alcohol though which may be a problem for tourism.

[HEPZIBAH]

Eeeh...'tis the thin end of the wedge.

Invite all them debauched foreigners in and before you know it they'll be telling you where you've gone wrong with your country and how you should run it. Still, it will provide great employment opportunities for the morality police.

(Tongue very firmly in cheek.)

[Dusak]

I hope that the UK government will consider a 600% increase in my pension so I can go and visit. If not, I will just have to be content sunbathing on the beach here in Luxor. At least I will have those three pointy things to look at.

[HEPZIBAH]

For a second, later, thread on the subject:

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=38686