Tourists Invited to Saudi Sea and Sun

The sun and sand are guaranteed, but Club 18-30 devotees should think twice before stripping off on the beach or canoodling under the palm trees. There's no vino to slake the throats of lobster-coloured visitors, and those with a taste for wacky baccy risk getting their heads chopped off.

Saudi Arabia, normally a byword for stern and puritanical sobriety, is preparing to show the world its jollier side by issuing visas to tourists. At present they are issued only for employment, pilgrimages and other approved visits, and can be difficult to obtain.

Tourist visas will be introduced within a few weeks, officials quoted by the daily Arab News in Jeddah said.

Tourism accounts for about 9% of Saudi Arabia's GDP, but the tourists are mainly Saudis themselves.The plan to market the kingdom to foreigners is intended to create 1.5 million-2.3 million jobs by 2020.

Construction of the Prince Sultan College for tourist and hotel management began in 2001, and there are plans for 50,000 new hotel rooms.

Besides deserts and oases, Saudi Arabia has mountain ranges, several national parks and 2.7 million hectares (6.7 million acres) of forest. The Red Sea coast is one of the best places in the world for scuba diving, and bungee jumping is also said to be popular.

Plans for a timeshare complex in Mecca, with views of the Grand Mosque, were announced last year, though the city is closed to non-Muslims.

The British government continues to advise against all but essential travel to Saudi Arabia, after suicide bombings last year, and some Saudis doubt that the country is ready to cope with foreign tourists.

In December, a Briton and an American were arrested after taking diving lessons in the Red Sea, apparently suspected of planning to attack shipping.

The supreme commission for tourism's website lists those who will not be allowed in: Jews; people with Israeli stamps in their passport; "those who don't abide by the Saudi traditions concerning appearance and behaviour", and "those under the influence of alcohol".