Saudi Arabia says LGBTQ visitors are now welcome

As Saudi Arabia continues its drive to attract tourists, authorities in the country appear to be reaching out to a particularly lucrative section of the market: LGBTQ travelers.

The website of the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) seems to have had its Q&A section updated to state that gay visitors are welcome in the kingdom.

“Everyone is welcome to visit Saudi Arabia and visitors are not asked to disclose such personal details,” is the website’s response to the question on its FAQ page: “Are LGBT visitors welcome to visit Saudi Arabia?”

It is not known exactly when the website was updated. A spokesperson for the STA said the policy had previously been in place, but an archived version of the website on March 14, 2023 and before did not have the question and answer on the page.

Same-sex sexual activity is an offense in Saudi Arabia, according to Human Rights Watch.

According to the Human Dignity Trust, which campaigns for the rights of LGBT people around the world, trans people can also face prosecution in Saudi, with “substantial evidence of the law being enforced” and “consistent reports of discrimination and violence” against LGBTQ people.

LGBTQ+ travelers are a lucrative market, according to Darren Burn, CEO of Out Of Office, a luxury travel planning service for the community, and of Travel Gay, the world’s largest LGBTQ+ travel platform.

“Research shows they spend more money in a destination than heterosexual couples, and tend to travel more times a year,” he told CNN.

“It’s a very interesting and lucrative demographic, and countries are plowing major revenue into [attracting] it.”

Whether LGBTQ travelers will feel comfortable traveling to Saudi, however, is another matter. Burn said that destinations such as the Maldives and Dubai, where homosexuality is a criminal offense, are popular, but without more assurances from the authorities, Saudi Arabia could be a tougher sell.

“It’s pretty vague, and doesn’t offer the assurances that would make me feel able to send our clients safely to the destination, but anything on the website about LGBT travelers is a good starting point,” he said.

“I can’t think of another Middle Eastern tourist board that has even mentioned them, except Qatar in the run-up to the World Cup, and even that was vague, saying that everyone was welcome.