The so-called "lounge" culture, which has spread rapidly in Saudi Arabia, has emerged as a target of government crackdowns. Authorities in Riyadh and Jeddah have closed more than 20 lounges in recent weeks and are conducting intensive inspections citing public health and hygiene.
According to the Financial Times (FT), lounges that offer shisha (water pipes), drinks, and musical performances for a low admission fee have recently become popular spots for Saudi Arabia's middle class and foreign workers. Alcohol is in principle banned in Saudi Arabia, but drinking and indoor smoking are exceptionally allowed in lounges. Admission is around 80 riyals (about 29,500 won), and in some cases women and couples can enter for free.
This lounge culture is closely related to "Vision 2030," proclaimed in 2016 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Earlier, Crown Prince bin Salman announced the strategy to break away from an oil-dependent industrial structure and achieve social and cultural transformation; from that point, he curtailed the powers of the religious police and greatly expanded the entertainment industry and women's economic activity. As mass entertainment was permitted during this period, large-scale entertainment complexes such as Riyadh Boulevard City were created, and the lounge culture also flourished.
Previously in Saudi Arabia, the religious police "mutawa" wielded unchecked power. The mutawa, meaning "volunteers," numbered about 3,500 and were stationed in all public places to monitor whether Islamic law, or sharia, was being properly observed. They would reprimand women's dress on the streets, crack down to prevent the sale of alcohol and pork, and arrest those involved in homosexual acts or prostitution, exercising powers similar to those of regular police.
Starting in 2016, as the authority of the mutawa was greatly reduced, Saudi society appeared to be gradually opening up, but recently a conservative mood seems to be strengthening again. In March this year, the Saudi Interior Ministry created a unit to crack down on so-called "immoral acts," and began arresting those involved in prostitution and begging; as an extension of this, lounges have also become targets of enforcement. Some observers say the Interior Ministry's new unit may replace the former religious police.
The government appears to be trying to quell accumulated discontent among conservatives within its broader policy of openness. As society opened up, hard-line conservatives grew more concerned about social collapse, and on social media (SNS), perceptions spread that lounges were "places of decadence where men and women drink and do drugs," making the social backlash visible. In response, the government seems to have drawn its sword against certain practices under fire while maintaining the overall open policy line to strike a social balance.
However, some say that a belated government crackdown is meaningless now that the social atmosphere has already opened up. Andrew Leber, a researcher at the Carnegie Middle East Center, said, "The spread of lounges is ultimately a result reflecting the demand of Saudi society," and emphasized, "Lounges have already become leisure spaces that ordinary people can easily enjoy instead of expensive concerts or international sporting events."