Would anyone go on holiday to Saudi Arabia now?

Earlier this month, thanks to the introduction of a new tourist visa, we reported that it's never been easier to visit Saudi Arabia.

Indeed, since rising to power last year, the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has made no secret of the fact that he's keen to wean the Kingdom off its reliance on oil, and build a lucrative tourism industry in the same way its neighbours Dubai and Bahrain have.

As part of his Vision 2030 Plan, the prince seeks to encourage 30 million holidaymakers a year, and he's even hinted that the Kingdom's draconian laws could be relaxed at yet-to-be-built resorts including the Red Sea development - which will be nearly twice the size of Wales - meaning, for example, that guests would be allowed to wear bikinis and consume alcohol.

Overall, much has been made of the prince's so-called progressive approach in revamping a nation that has long been one of the world's strictest and most conservative. In January of this year, a 35-year ban on cinema was lifted, and in June, women for the first time were allowed to drive without permission - two substantial leaps into the future.

Then the Jamal Khashoggi scandal broke - in which a Saudi-born journalist was murdered at the Kingdom’s consulate in Turkey - global outrage ensued, and all eyes are on the prince as being culpable.

Details are still emerging from Turkish officials, who are currently investigating the crime, but one thing's for certain: Saudi Arabia and its leader have - for now at least - been cast in a very bad light.  

What is the new Saudi tourist visa?

Saudi Arabia clamped down on tourism in 2010 but in April of this year reversed their approach and started issuing tourist visas again.

Tourists can, for the first time, now obtain a visa to visit Saudi Arabia without facing the strict requirements that previously made it nigh impossible. Anyone planning to attend a grand prix being held there in December can buy an ordinary 14-day tourist visa, giving them access to the race but also to the rest of the country.

Talking to the Associated Press earlier this year, the prince said: "[Saudi Arabia] is open for people that are doing business, for people working in Saudi Arabia, investing in Saudi Arabia, and people who are visiting for special purposes. And now it will be open for tourism again on a selected basis."

Until this month, visas were still fairly tough to obtain unless the traveller was on a muslim pilgrimage for Hajj or Umrah. But the new option, priced at 640 SAR (£131), makes the process far more straightforward. Using an online platform dubbed Sharek, visitors can buy tickets for the Saudi Ad Diriyah Formula E grand prix near Riyadh, to be held on December 15, and apply for their 14-visa at the same time.

There are limitations on the availability of the visa to women. Female solo travellers over the age of 25 are able to obtain a 30-day tourist visa, but those under 25 will have to be accompanied by a family member.

More visas that better facilitate tourist visits are expected going forward.

But will people want them?

Possibly not, according to our readers at least. A Telegraph Travel poll (below) published last August (before the Khashoggi incident occurred) garnered nearly 4,000 votes - with an overwhelming 78 per cent stating they wouldn't go on holiday to Saudi Arabia. The recent controversy is only likely to turn holidaymakers off more.

That said, another poll conducted last year on Myanmar (Burma) asked readers whether the persecution of the Rohingya people - something the UN branded a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” - put them off visiting the country. More than 3,500 people voted, with 37 per cent saying no, it hadn't put them off, and 63 per cent voting yes it had.

But forget tourists, when it comes to Saudi Arabia and the murder of Khashoggi, even companies with a strong financial interest vested in the Kingdom have been turning their backs. A major summit dubbed "Davos in the desert" launched today, intending to draw leading investors to help underwrite the prince's ambitious plans to revamp the economy.

But ministers from the United States, Britain and France, all with huge defence deals at stake, have pulled out of the summit; as have corporate heads from the likes of Ford, JP Morgan, Uber, Bloomberg, CNN and the Financial Times.

Marc Leaderman, operations director of Wild Frontiers, one of the few tour operators to run trips to Saudi Arabia from the UK, said: “Whilst given recent alarming developments we are reviewing our plans to run tours to Saudi Arabia, we believe that real travel often raises difficult ethical questions and that’s perhaps as it should be.

“We feel that decisions to visit controversial destinations such as Saudi Arabia are ultimately personal and do not reflect an endorsement of governmental policy. Saudi Arabia is a complex yet fascinating country.

“If the country makes good on its much publicised promises to start re-issuing tourist visas in the near future, interest from our clients has already shown that it will no doubt prove to be a popular yet niche destination for curious and experienced travellers who want to meet with locals and to see and experience the reality of destinations for themselves.”

What does the British FCO advise?

Most areas of Saudi Arabia are painted green and safe to visit. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against all travel and all but essential travel to only a 80km stretch south of the country's border with Yemen.

Elsewhere, it states that although "terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks" (a warning which also applies to countries like France and the UK itself) the crime rate is "low".

It does warn that Saudi Arabia's Islamic law is "strictly enforced". It's illegal here, for example, to practise any other religion in public, as well as to drink alcohol, and engage in homosexual or extra-marital relations. As for breaking the law, the FCO warns: "Suspects can be held without charge and are not always allowed quick access to legal representation."

What does Saudi Arabia have going for it?

When they're ready, the resorts. Groundbreaking on the Red Sea development is scheduled for late 2019, with the first phase completed by the end of 2022. The Kingdom said it would include “the development of hotels and luxury residential units, as well as all logistical infrastructure – including air, land and sea transport hubs”, and create as many as 35,000 jobs and contribute 15 billion riyals (£3bn) to the nation’s GDP.

The region has the potential to be popular with divers, while Mada’in Saleh – a Unesco-listed settlement likened to Petra in Jordan – is also likely to be a big draw. Saudi Arabia can boast four Unesco World Heritage Sites in total, also including the Rock Art of the Hail Region, which includes numerous representations of human and animal figures covering 10,000 years of history.

Saudi Arabia also has fine beaches, believe it or not. The Farasan Islands, off the coast of Jizan, possess some of the best. For better or worse, this archipelago is one of the sites earmarked for development.

For those in search of peace and quiet, there's Rub' al Khali (The Empty Quarter), which is the largest continuous body of sand in the world, covering some 250,000 square miles.

City folks will be happy exploring the glittering capital of Ridyah itself, while BBC broadcaster Frank Gardner, who has been to Saudi Arabia several times over the decades, wrote about it for Telegraph Travel, naming Jeddah as his favourite city.

"As a steamy, Red Sea trading port it has a bustle and buzz like no other place in Saudi Arabia," he described. "In the winding, labyrinthine backstreets of the old quarter, known as the 'Balad', you hear every language and dialect of the region. Here, little has changed since I first explored its colourful street markets in the 1980s."

Would you go on holiday to Saudi Arabia, if you were given a free ticket? Or is it a place worthy of a boycott? Leave a comment in the box below.