Saudi Arabia to allow women tourists to visit kingdom without male guardian

Saudi Arabia will allow women older than 24 to visit without a male guardian as part of a new policy to promote tourism to the kingdom.

Women tourists below that age will still need to be accompanied by a family member, a Saudi tourism official told the

Arab News daily.

“The tourist visa will be a single-entry visa and valid for 30 days,” said Omar Al Mubarak, the director general of licensing department of Saudi Arabia’s Commission for Tourism and National Heritage.

“This visa is added to those available in the kingdom. It is independent of work, visit, Hajj and Umrah visas.”

The tourism authority said the kingdom will begin issuing tourist visas in the next few months as Saudi Arabia undertakes major economic and social reforms.

Prince Sultan bin Salman, the head of the tourism commission, said the cost of the new tourist visa had not yet been decided but would be kept “as low as possible, because we believe the cumulative economic impact is greater than the cash from the visa”.

Saudi Arabia grants tourist visas to a limited number of countries, but even those applications involve restrictions, including requirements to travel through an accredited company and stay at designated hotels.

The kingdom attracted more than 32,000 visitors during a trial of the tourist visa system between 2008 and 2010.

The promotion of tourism to the world’s 12th biggest country, by area, is a key component of the Saudi Vision 2030, a plan to diversify the kingdom’s economy and reduce dependence on oil revenues. It is expected to create jobs and maintain visitor numbers outside of Umrah and the peak Hajj season.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the driving force behind Vision 2030, announced in August a project to turn 50 islands and a string of sites on the Red Sea into luxury resorts.

In recent months, the kingdom has broken with some of its most rigid rules – lifting a ban on cinemas and announcing that women will be allowed to drive.