In what could yet be another move to open the conservative country to the world, Saudi Arabia has started allowing foreign men and women to share hotel rooms.
Foreigners no longer need to prove that they are related as part of the country’s tourist visa campaign.
The new policy will now make travel less restrictive to unaccompanied women and for unmarried foreign visitors to stay together in the Gulf state. Pre-marital sex is banned in the Middle East country.
“All Saudi nationals are asked to show family ID or proof of relationship on checking into hotels. This is not required of foreign tourists. All women, including Saudis, can book and stay in hotels alone, providing ID on check-in,” the Saudi Commission for Tourism said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia also announced last week that it will be issuing tourist visas for the first time to attract more visitors to the country.
The policy also relaxes rules on dress codes for foreign visitors. The government however clarified that alcoho remains to be banned in the country.
