Saudi Arabia said 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."
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