Saudi Arabia’s roads less traveled leaving tourists behind
Photo: Road through the desert, Riyadh-Mecca highway in Saudi Arabia / Fedor Selivanov
Saudi Arabia's Commission for Tourism and National Heritage has improved the preservation efforts at key tourism sites, including ones that attract hundreds of thousands of hajj and umrah pilgrims each year, but the lack of highways and transportation is hampering the tourism industry.
Driving north for 336 km from Jeddah to Yanbu on Route 5, motorists unfamiliar with the Saudi Arabian highway may notice something unusual after passing the small city of Thuwal. There are no convenience stores, petrol stations or rest stops for most of the drive.
Motorists who do not read Arabic may also miss small signs directing them to exits for rest stops that are several kilometers off the highway. Indeed, some roadways and rural regions are so under-developed that tourists are banned from exploring them at all.
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Rob L. Wagner