Business travel to Saudi Arabia

[Liltzero]

I've been invited to a meeting in Saudi Arabia. I work for a big multinational and the meeting would be at one of their office sites.
Before I say yes to attending what do I need to be aware of? I'm thinking already of modest dress. Thank you.

If it's a big multinational company with offices out there they should have an in country welcome pack or a pre departure briefing with everything you need to now - ours does! I'd ask someone what your company has, they might have a pack already done.

Could you say no?

I could do (and tbh there might not be travel budget!). But I thought I'd gather some MN wisdom in anticipation.

Not a big deal anymore. You probably need a business visa, which is a bit of a hassle but doable. Yes, definitely dress conservatively. I would suggest picking up an Abaya. They are light, floaty, and by far the most comfortable, practical thing in the immense heat. Don't need to be black. You will also have the assurance that you are in line with norms. It's not required to wear a head scarf, but bring one with you (you can normally purchase a matching one with your Abaya). You can have it falling lose when in most offices, but can raise it to cover your head, to avoid attention in the street (and protect from the sun). Don't initiate physical contact with men, but many Saudi men will proactively reach out their hand to shake your hand, to show they are westernised. So take any hand that's offered, but don't be offended if it is not. Think of it as a respect for your personal space.

This time of year, heat will be overwhelming, so would plan on taxis everywhere. If you are traveling at a good standard, you can expect excellent air conditioning of course. And food is very high standard. The Saudi coffee is subtle, mild, often with cardamon overtones - try it! Alcohol is illegal of course - including on flight in Saudi airspace. Don't take risks with anything at all in your cases that could be objectionable. There are tons of things to object about of course on a political/feminist level.... But the actual experience of traveling as an international business woman is generally very comfortable, and you will feel respected and might even enjoy the time off from your body being checked out/ being hassled/ hit on etc. Try to avoid making too many assumptions in advance. Eg I went to present to the top 100 of a Saudi company, and more than half were women, and they were vocal - better than we do in the UK!

Often executives are aware of Saudi's reputation and keen to represent their country positively. Public dignity is very important, so I'd strongly suggest avoiding political statements/ challenging local execs - they are no more (or even less) in control of what their government does than we are, and not free to express themselves anyway. Accept their hospitality and highly likely you will be treated extremely well.

I don't think you're allowed OTC codeine tablets brought from uk. I am not sure about prescription meds though.

Speak to your hr dept as each company will have their own protocols. Going out with men to eat for instance (unless relatives) is still frowned upon though strictly speaking not banned, so my friend who travels there for work orders room service for ease, she hates it there btw, but wants promotion and complying is necessary alas. Suitable clothing is widely available in major cities and online, but if you're being whisked from the airport to hotel to meeting you could get away with wide leg loose trousers and loose tunic top plus scarf rather than an abaya, again check company policy

Also, if you have allergies make sure not to take Sudafed from behind the counter. The one with pseudoephedrine. That's not allowed either.

Abaya not enforced for foreigners any more, I think, but you might still prefer to have one and put it on as you leave plane.

Will you be travelling business class? Even if not, you might get picked out the passport/border control queue. Don’t panic, this will be to give you special treatment over the ‘guest workers’, skipping the line. Sounds terrible? It is but get used to it!

Less strict in last few years but you could still get in trouble with religious police if you’re chatting to male colleagues on the street.

Don’t refer to it as the Persian Gulf, that gets backs up.

I travelled out there business class about 13 years ago with large multinational. We bought abayas and headscarves to wear outside of the office - ie in the airport, going to the hotel etc. We sometimes wore them for meals out too, but didn’t wear them in the large business hotel all the time.
TBH I was glad of having one at the airport. Every single woman wore one, all black. I would have been the only woman I could see in the airport queues not in one. This may not be usual or may have changed but it was my experience.

In the hotel and when eating out in the town, I dressed completely covered arms and legs, loose, with longish dark poncho thing. We still got a lot of looks. Especially in one restaurant (where we all had to sit outside as there were no tables for women in the restaurant). People were coming out from the restaurant to look at us and going back in again. There were no women’s loos I could see in that restaurant.

In the Saudi aramco offices - totally fine. Wore just normal long sleeved business dress. All the Saudi women did too. Business as usual. It was out in the town and the public areas outside of the office compound it was different.

Thank you for the replies. Much appreciated

CARINA GOETZ ON LINKEDIN IS WHO YOU NEED TO Speak TO

I have worked in Saudi Arabia several times in the last couple of years. Riyadh, which I believe is considered to be a more liberal city, so you might need to bear that in mind if you’re headed to a different place.

My client’s dress code is that women should wear an abaya at work. It’s no longer a legal requirement and I didn’t really understand why I would be expected to wear one when no one else had to. I thought it would be strange, like turning up to a meeting in Düsseldorf in Lederhosen. When I got there I found that pretty much every woman wears a long sleeved full length layer of some sort over their clothes and I prefer to wear something long when out of my hotel room. I wear an open abaya rather than a proper closed one, and have a scarf and a proper full zip black abaya (cheap job from Amazon) in my bag if I’m going to a new place - never used either.

Other than that, loose with long sleeves and collar bones hidden seems to do the job. I’m into clothes and enjoyed the challenge of dressing myself around the cultural norms. After a few goes I settled on loose blouses similar to what I’d wear in the UK but cut much longer, and my usual summer work trousers/jeans. I have a very small selection of blouses and long tops from Modanisa. None of it is wonderful quality but it does the job and there is tonnes to choose from. I had a couple of abaya from there too that were ok, but in the end I bought a couple there that were altered to fit (and I had the sleeves made shorter so my wrists were exposed because i’m vain and western). I’ve decided the trick to looking ‘right’ is to choose an abaya in the same style as you would like in a winter coat. There is so much variety and they all looked like dressing gowns on me until I realised I was after less fabric in the body and a simpler collar, rather than a blazer or something with giant sleeves and a belt. Pic attached for reference of a work outfit in a very low-key downstairs loo. This is my favourite abaya. I suspect it’s a bit glitzy and probably designed for parties rather than going to work but I love it and I’m sure my colleagues enjoy laughing about my ridiculous choice .

Have a great trip. I have thoroughly enjoyed working there.