<p class="title">Saudi Arabia welcomed 24,000 tourists in the 10 days after it issued tourism visas for the first time, state television reported on Tuesday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Saudi Arabia announced on September 27 it would start offering tourist visas, opening up the kingdom to holidaymakers as part of a push to diversify its economy away from oil.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"In 10 days, some 24,000 foreigners entered Saudi Arabia on a tourist visa," the television reported, citing the Saudi foreign ministry.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Up until September 27, the ultra-conservative Islamic state only issued visas to Muslim pilgrims, foreign workers and recently to spectators at sporting or cultural events.</p>.<p class="bodytext">To encourage arrivals, authorities announced Sunday they would allow unmarried foreign couples to rent hotel rooms together.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Kickstarting tourism is one of the centrepieces of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 reform programme to prepare the Arab world's largest economy for a post-oil era.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Citizens from 49 countries are now eligible for online e-visas or visas on arrival, including the United States, Australia, several European nations, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, China and Kazakhstan.</p>
<p class="title">Saudi Arabia welcomed 24,000 tourists in the 10 days after it issued tourism visas for the first time, state television reported on Tuesday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Saudi Arabia announced on September 27 it would start offering tourist visas, opening up the kingdom to holidaymakers as part of a push to diversify its economy away from oil.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"In 10 days, some 24,000 foreigners entered Saudi Arabia on a tourist visa," the television reported, citing the Saudi foreign ministry.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Up until September 27, the ultra-conservative Islamic state only issued visas to Muslim pilgrims, foreign workers and recently to spectators at sporting or cultural events.</p>.<p class="bodytext">To encourage arrivals, authorities announced Sunday they would allow unmarried foreign couples to rent hotel rooms together.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Kickstarting tourism is one of the centrepieces of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 reform programme to prepare the Arab world's largest economy for a post-oil era.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Citizens from 49 countries are now eligible for online e-visas or visas on arrival, including the United States, Australia, several European nations, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, China and Kazakhstan.</p>