Intrepid Travel introduces female-led tours of Saudi Arabia

During the 12-day tour, visitors will have opportunities to participate in a wide range of female-led experiences and initiatives. These include visiting a women-owned beauty salon, taking part in a cooking class with a local female chef, and eating lunch under the trees at a citrus farm run by two sisters.

Elsewhere, guests will visit a shop selling abeyas, a traditional Muslim robe, and find out how women are modernising the garment, and take a Red Sea boat trip followed by a barbecue on a private female-only beach.

Jenny Gray, Intrepid’s product manager for its Women’s Expeditions line, said the trip would “put local women’s voices centre stage”.

“With activities like joining a cooking class with a local female chef and getting pampered at a women-owned salon, the trip will give our travellers the chance to see a side of Saudi few get to experience,” she said.

Zina Bencheikh, Intrepid managing director EMEA, whose team will oversee operations, recently visited Saudi Arabia to fine-tune the programme, and said women there were excited to welcome tourists to their country.

“On my own visit, I met many women who were embracing the changes in their society,” said Bencheikh. “They were excited to begin their careers in travel and welcome people to their country.

“By launching our Women’s Expedition, we hope to create opportunities for those women to push boundaries and drive meaningful change, for themselves and future generations.”

Ranking 131st in the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index, Saudi Arabia remains a deeply conservative patriarchal society, although Intrepid has highlighted certain freedoms women have been afforded in recent years – including the right to own their own businesses.

“With women now representing 30% of the tourism and hospitality workforce, Intrepid felt there was an opportunity to create a product that would both allow travellers to see the country through the eyes of local women and support efforts towards female empowerment,” said the operator.

The tour leads in from £4,795pp.