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In order to grab out to attract more tourist dollars, Saudi Arabia is now reaching out to a most unlikely section of the market (LGBT travelers). “Everyone is welcome to visit Saudi Arabia and visitors are asked not to disclose such personal details,” was the website’s response when someone inquired if LGBT were welcome to visit the country.
It is not known when this policy was put in place by the Saudi Tourist Authority. Same Sex activity remains a criminal offense. People in the LGBT community are at risk of being arrested and prosecuted under Saudi Law and face substantial discrimination by law enforcement.
Saudi Arabia wants to compete against places such as Qatar or Dubai which are reaching out to the LGBT communities for the lucrative tourist market. However it is not on the travelers’ terms but the country’s terms.
In general visitors from the LGBT travelling to these countries must be sensitive to the local culture and keep their “queerness” very discreet. You must be “cis passing” if you are transgender. LGBT residents in this area know what is and isn’t acceptable and If you show up and you are non-binary or are obviously male or trans with makeup on, you will be denied entrance.
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, feels that sitting down with the Saudi Government and the Saudi Tourist Board and initiating talks about how to create a safe travel experience for LGBTQ visitors would enhance Saudi Arabia’s potential to become a gay friendly destination.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/saudi-arabia-lgbt-tourists/index.html
It is not known when this policy was put in place by the Saudi Tourist Authority. Same Sex activity remains a criminal offense. People in the LGBT community are at risk of being arrested and prosecuted under Saudi Law and face substantial discrimination by law enforcement.
Saudi Arabia wants to compete against places such as Qatar or Dubai which are reaching out to the LGBT communities for the lucrative tourist market. However it is not on the travelers’ terms but the country’s terms.
In general visitors from the LGBT travelling to these countries must be sensitive to the local culture and keep their “queerness” very discreet. You must be “cis passing” if you are transgender. LGBT residents in this area know what is and isn’t acceptable and If you show up and you are non-binary or are obviously male or trans with makeup on, you will be denied entrance.
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, feels that sitting down with the Saudi Government and the Saudi Tourist Board and initiating talks about how to create a safe travel experience for LGBTQ visitors would enhance Saudi Arabia’s potential to become a gay friendly destination.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/saudi-arabia-lgbt-tourists/index.html
