(Photo: Saudi Tourism)
Saudi Arabia will begin issuing tourist visas in the first quarter of 2018, a first for the kingdom as it undertakes major economic and social reforms.
According to Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz "all government approvals" are in place for the launch of electronic visas next year to "all nationals whose countries allow their citizens to visit" Saudi Arabia.
"We are now just preparing the regulations - who is eligible for the visas and how to obtain them," said Prince Sultan, head of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage.
The owner of a Jeddah-based tour operator said that guided tours will begin in February 2018.
For those who have not visited this beautiful country, they have notions of what it is like... here are some pictures that are likely to dispel those notions and give a potential tourist to KSA an idea what they can expect to find and where they should go.