From the devout desert state to the new travel paradise

Until recently, Saudi Arabia was just a big blank spot on the world tourism map. With good reason: the hospitality of the Saudis was well utilized with the accommodation of two million pilgrims a year to the holy places of Islam in Mecca and Media. A tourist infrastructure for vacationers was not even required. Because hair-raising reports about human rights violations and the medieval social order of the absolute monarchy prevented any sympathy among western vacationers. But now everything is supposed to be different: Saudi Arabia is aiming for a comprehensive social and economic transformation – tourism plays a decisive role in the sheikhs’ gigantic plan.