In the run-up to Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup, there are signs the Gulf monarchy is tentatively seeking to reassure LGBTQ visitors — with a queer cruise scheduled to arrive in the Red Sea city of Jeddah next year.
The ultra-conservative kingdom, home to the birthplace of Islam, has in recent years tried to soften its forbidding image through social reforms, including allowing women to drive, reintroducing cinemas and welcoming non-Muslim tourists.
Under the direction of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, the power of its influential clerics has diminished and the once-feared morality police have been muzzled.
And although homosexuality remains criminalised, the authorities have softened their rhetoric in a bid to establish themselves as a global destination.
In a sign of changing times, the US LGBTQ-focused travel company VACAYA has announced an “Arabian Nights” cruise for spring 2027 from Jeddah to Egypt’s Ain Sokhna, promising its customers they will “make and live history”.
