Fatimah Al Zimam likes to walk around in black leggings and a casual top, with her curly hair loose and uncovered. He owns a silver GMC pickup truck, which he loves to drive solo across the Saudi desert. And he is passionate about his work: As a tour guide, he introduces his country to visitors from the United States, France, Britain, Italy, China and more.
Ms. Al Zimam, 34, is a Saudi woman and she works for herself. He represents a profound change taking place in his home country, which has long been known as a very conservative place. The opening of Saudi Arabia to non-religious tourists in 2019 is a major part of the ongoing change, as well as some important gains granted to women in the past half-decade, albeit with some restrictions.
But despite recent changes, the country continues to be criticized for its human rights record, which can raise concerns among potential visitors. A travel index is ranked Saudi Arabia is second-to-last in the world in terms of safety for LGBTQ travelers.
But Saudi Arabia is betting big that tourists will come: The government is investing $1 trillion in the industry for 10 years, with the aim of attracting 100 million visitors annually by 2030. This is all part of the effort to reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuels.
“Without oil, we are gone. So now there are many projects to promote agriculture, solar energy production — and tourism, too,” said Ms. Al Zimam.
I first met Ms. Al Zimam on a recent solo trip to Saudi Arabia, when I hired him as my tour guide in Riyadh, the capital, and spent a day riding shotgun in his pickup truck. A few weeks later, I had a video call with him at his apartment in Jeddah, on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia. She is eager to tell me about her favorite places to take her for the first time, and how Saudi men react when they see her without a long dress, or abaya.
Our conversation has been edited and shortened for clarity.
What kind of reactions have you seen among Saudis since the country started issuing standard tourist visas?
Most people in Saudi Arabia are very generous to tourists. I’ve seen it even in remote villages, where people are very religious — they really help tourists, especially hitchhikers and cyclists who sometimes just pop in from somewhere.
And look somewhere like Al Ula, in the northwest, where you can see a lot of tourists today. At first, some local people may be skeptical about the crowds, the noise, the visitors. But then they started seeing the jobs, the money, the extra work they could find through tourism – they knew the opportunities. Today, they are very happy with tourism.
The government is spending a lot of money to develop the ancient city of Al Ula a tourist destination. Is that a place you would recommend to visitors?
Al Ula is the best destination in the world for me. The Royal Commission did a great job of developing sites around there, and they’re still doing excavations, finding new things. Visitors love the ancient tombs at Mada’in Saleh, which are nearby. There’s a lot more. Al Ula is full of stone inscriptions. Wherever you walk, you will find them.
And I love bringing people to Hail, also up north. Hail is a historic place – Lawrence of Arabia spent a lot of time there – and the scenery is stunning. The sand dunes, the red mountains, and just the beautiful rock shapes and stone inscriptions. You can drive and drive, then suddenly you come across a small oasis, a cluster of palms between the mountains.
Are there many other female tour guides in Saudi Arabia?
There are many, many female tour guides, and more in training. In the class I took to become a licensed guide, there were twice as many women as men, and I think that’s normal.
Many potential female visitors may have questions about how to dress in Saudi Arabia. I know you don’t wear a head scarf or something abaya. Have you stopped doing that? the rule has changed how many years ago?
It was gradual for me. At first, I would still wear an abaya and hijab in the city, but not if I was out in the desert or in the mountains. But then I moved to Riyadh for work and found myself more comfortable and happier without the abaya, as long as I was still modestly dressed. Now, I don’t wear abaya or hijab. The only exception is if I go to an official place — the courthouse or police station — or if I go to a mosque. If I’m going to pray, I need a scarf.
Some people might stare because it’s kind of a new thing to see, but they respect my choice. I once had an Uber driver in Al Jouf who said to me: “Look at me, with my beard and my moustache. I am a man, but I married the woman my mother chose for me. But look, there is no abaya: You are a woman, and you chose. You are braver than me.”
What advice do you have for female guests on how to dress?
Some Saudis will recommend that female visitors wear a scarf. But why? It’s okay not to. In rural areas, they might stare at you, but I’ve found that, even there, most people are welcoming. And people who don’t ewelcome have nothing to say because there are no more rules about it. I’m always safe, even when I’m traveling alone and without an abaya. Come and I’ll take you to the Red Sea, and you’ll see — there, you can wear a bikini. The only exception is if you visit a mosque. There, it is mandatory to cover your legs, and for women to wear long sleeves and scarves.
What do you like to do when you’re not guiding tours?
I love traveling to Saudi Arabia, and I did it even before I started working as a tour guide. I am also a rock climber since 2019, and I want to go here Plantwhere I first learned to climb.
I know Saudi women haven’t been around that long was given the right to drive. What do people think when they see you behind the wheel of your truck?
I have to admit that I like the reactions of people who see me driving. Sometimes in rural areas, people follow me, just because they are curious. “Is it really a woman? Isn’t it a man with curly hair?” But they saw that I was a woman and called me, “My daughter! My daughter!” And they ask if I’m a tourist.
Have you ever been outside your home country?
I’ve traveled around the Gulf and to Jordan, but my first time outside the Middle East was last year, when I went to the UK and then to Switzerland with the Ministry of Tourism. On that trip, we spent a week at a tourism school in Montreux. The ministry has sent thousands of people to the best tourism schools in Europe. I am in the latter group.
What’s your next gig?
Summer is the low season for tourists here. So I’m working on my book, which is both a memoir and a travel guide to Saudi Arabia. I am planning to publish travel secrets about places around the country. I have everything in mind, and now I will write it.
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