events such as the dakar rally will help boost tourism one of the centrepieces of vision 2030 saudi arabia began offering tourist visas for the first time last september the dakar rally to be broadcast in 190 countries will pass through a host of sites from n a 500 billion futuristic megacity under construction to the heritage site of alula and the sand dunes of the vast empty quarter desert the idea is to praise the beauty of the landscapes the infrastructures and to make a postcard of saudi arabia said gomez quentin de pimodan an expert on the sunni kingdom at the research institute for european and american studies said the rally will serve saudi arabia the same way tour de france serves france it will showcase the landscapes and the heritage the long shots and wide angles as the kingdom opens up to international tourists he said however accusations of sportswashing have prompted some international players to shun the kingdom golf superstars tiger woods and rory mcilroy recently declined a lucrative invitation to take part in a tournament organised in saudi arabia mcilroy who was reportedly offered 25 million hinted in an interview with golf channel that morality had influenced his decision saudi arabia is attempting to sportswash away its abusive rights reputation using largescale events with highly controlled environments said human rights watch fans and viewers need to look past the glamour of these events but dakar rally organisers have praised saudi arabias willingness to open up amid unprecedented social reforms after years of conservatism gomez said the response to the rally could help determine the impact of its sports push it will be interesting to see how the event plays out how it is experienced what the repercussions are and what happens afterwards said gomez afp pms pms