Saudi Arabia was very much in the news this weekend. It  announced  that  it was offering tourist visas for the first time, beginning  a program of Crown Prince Mohammed  bin Salman  to  open the  country to more foreign visitors after centuries of comparative isolation due to its ultra-conservative way of  life.  As site of Islam’s  most revered shrines in Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia is visited by millions of Muslim from around the world for the annual hajj, including thousands of Filipino Muslims  from Mindanao. But  these foreign visitors  go there solely for  religious reasons; the hajj is required of every  Muslim to  accomplish  a least once in a  lifetime. Now  Saudi Arabia is opening  to people from 49  countries  around  the world — not  just Muslims – and to  several new sites. “Visitors will be surprised by the treasures we have to share – five UNESCO World Heritage sites, a vibrant  local  culture, and breathtaking natural beauty,” Saudi tourism chief Ahmed al-Khateeb  said. As part  of  its new tourism program, Saudi Arabia will ease its strict  dress code for women.  Visitors will  not be required to wear abaya robes shrouding the entire body that is mandatory public wear for Saudi women.  But  they  will be required to wear “modest clothing.” The goal of the new tourism program is to diversify  the country’s economy away from  its present ultra-dependence on oil. Saudi Arabia  today  is the world’s  top oil  exporter;  the Philippines  imports a third of its total oil needs from it. This dependence came into  sharp  focus  last September 14 when a drone attack – believed inspired by Iran – cut Saudi oil production  by half. The attack sent oil prices rising in nations  around  the world as  they faced the prospect  of loss of adequate supplies for their industries. Within days after the attack, the prices  of  benchmark Dubai Crude rose to  $67.55  on  September 17. Pump prices in Philippine gasoline stations responded, rising  by P2.35 per liter  of gasoline and by  P1.80  per liter of diesel. Anytime fuel prices rise, they are inevitably followed by market price increases, as in the inflation crisis we underwent in 2018. Last  Saturday, however – and this is the  second big reason Saudi Arabia was in  the news his weekend – the Saudi government announced  to  a relieved world that it  had quickly repaired the damage from the  drone attacks and would be back to normal production  before the end of this month.  Our local oil firms responded  with  the announcement  of a significant rollback by P1.60 per liter this week. There are today some 2.3 million Overseas Filipino Workers  in  Saudi Arabia. Many of them are doctors and nurses, engineers and other oil production workers, construction, telecom, and transportation workers.  As Saudi Arabia ventures into tourism, it may find that Filipinos are also among the world’s leading workers in this field of tourism and services.