For the Polish adventurers, the main hurdle to visiting Saudi Arabia had been getting the visa they had been seeking for the past two years. “When we had the choice between Qatar, where we don’t need a visa, and Saudi Arabia, we chose Qatar, ” Andrzej said, referring to the kingdom’s neighbour currently under a Saudi-led blockade. But the pioneering Poles finally managed to enter Saudi Arabia thanks to a landmark decision enacted in September to offer tourist visas – relaxing rules that had largely restricted visits to business travellers and Muslim pilgrims. To encourage visitors, authorities announced they would allow unmarried foreign couples to rent hotel rooms together, and that foreign women were not obliged to wear the body-shrouding abaya that is still expected in public for Saudi women. In September, Saudi Arabia relaxed its visa rules to allow more visitors into the kingdom.

Source: The Star November 07, 2019 23:54 UTC