SAUDI ARABIA will start issuing tourist guide licences to qualified Saudi women this month, a news report said.

As many as 150 Saudi women, who have studied tourism guidance and graduated as early as 2012, have applied for the licence, said a report in Saudi Gazette.

The first training sessions qualifying women to obtain the licences was held in Tabuk, it said.

According to Sattam Al Balawi, chairman of the Saudi society for tourist guides, to become a tour guide, applicants should not be less than 23 years of age, be medically fit, should pass the commission's qualifying tests and should have successfully attended training sessions in first aid.

Areej Falatah, an aspiring tour guide, said she worked for five years in areas away from her specialisation. She will now be able to work as a tour guide when she is given the licence.