Can Saudi Arabia become a premier tourist hotspot?
It has sun, sea and (lots of) sand. But people are wary of visiting the kingdom
![People visit the Maraya building in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240706_CUP004.jpg)
Recent events in Saudi Arabia have not been a good advert for tourism. Between 2m and 3m Muslims visit the country each year for the hajj, the annual five-day pilgrimage that all Muslims aspire to do at least once. Last month, as temperatures exceeded 50°C, more than 1,300 people died, many from heat stress. The country’s authorities have been castigated for failing to take care of the pilgrims.
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This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Call of the desert”
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