If you were a travel agent, you'd probably find that Saudi Arabia is one of the hardest sells there is. The Foreign Office isn't that keen on you going because of the 'high threat of terrorism', particularly against Westerners. And if you can put that risk to the back of your mind, there are the public executions for drug dealers and adulterers to reconcile with your conscience. Oh, and the gender apartheid, too. Ethical tourism it ain't. But Saudi does have one ace up its sleeve, and that's what has brought me here: its Red Sea coastline has some of the world's last virgin coral reefs, and some of the finest diving on the planet.
I've been invited to Saudi Arabia by Dream Divers, which operates a fleet of dive boats and live-aboards in the south of the country. The company wants to expand its client base beyond the region's ex-pat oil workers, and I'm here with a group of German dive tour operators who want to see what this stretch of the Red Sea has to offer.
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