Saudi Arabia has a possibility to determine a brand new benchmark for experience-led tourism via striking its communities, tradition and heritage on the centre of vacation spot construction, tourism leaders mentioned as of late at WTM Highlight Riyadh.
All through two periods inspecting group tourism and the hastily evolving journey financial system, trade leaders explored how Saudi Arabia can mix its unusual cultural property with fashionable tourism and leisure whilst developing significant financial alternatives for native communities.
The Villages to Worth Chains – Designing Neighborhood Tourism dialogue, moderated via Ibrahim Osta, Senior Financial Enlargement Director and International Tourism Lead at Chemonics World, introduced in combination professionals from UN Tourism, the Royal Fee for AlUla, the Ministry of Tradition and HiHome, whilst the second one consultation featured representatives from the Royal Fee for Riyadh Town, Warrior Workforce and Roland Berger.
The discussions come as tourism performs an increasingly more vital function in Saudi Arabia’s financial diversification underneath Imaginative and prescient 2030. In 2025, the Kingdom welcomed just about 123 million home and world guests, producing greater than SAR304 billion in tourism spending. As customer numbers keep growing, audio system highlighted the chance to be sure that tourism construction creates long-term price whilst retaining the tradition, identification and herbal property that differentiate Saudi Arabia as a vacation spot.
Jost Neumann, Programme Coordinator for the Tourism for Rural Construction Programme at UN Tourism, mentioned a success group tourism is determined by a number of interconnected priorities somewhat than a unmarried resolution.
“For group tourism to prevail, we’ve recognized 5 essential priorities: native price advent, safeguarding dwelling traditions and cultural identification, environmental stewardship, sturdy institutional coordination, and marketplace readiness and marketplace get right of entry to in order that nice group stories are commercially viable and meet high quality, well being, and protection requirements.”
Saudi Arabia is already offering examples with world relevance, Neumann mentioned, pointing to AlUla as a fashion different locations may be told from.
Silvia Barbone, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, Royal Fee for AlUla, emphasized that group participation has been embedded inside of AlUla’s construction throughout heritage, tradition, ingenious industries, recreation, social actions, handicrafts, innovation and generation.
“We wish to paintings on what’s unknown to the sector and make it identified to the sector,” mentioned Barbone. “There may be such richness on the subject of historical past, legacy, heritage and herbal biodiversity.”
She defined that the manner is centred on co-creation somewhat than implementing a predetermined tourism fashion, bringing the group in conjunction with govt and world companions to increase a vacation spot that protects what makes AlUla unique.
Nourah Al-Sadoun, Founder and Leader Govt Officer of HiHome, additionally highlighted the commercial doable of group participation, discussing how Saudi Arabia’s custom of hospitality can transform a part of a sustainable customer financial system.
“At first, it used to be a brand new thought,” she mentioned, explaining that hosts have been to start with reluctant to just accept cost on account of the Kingdom’s tradition of generosity and hospitality. “However we satisfied them that that is one of the best ways to make it sustainable.”
The significance of authenticity endured all the way through The Enjoy Financial system: Mixing Historic Heritage with Trendy Leisure, the place audio system explored how Saudi Arabia can mix hundreds of years of historical past with recent leisure, hospitality, generation and large-scale sights.
Troy Gillham, Founder and Leader Govt Officer, Warrior Workforce, mentioned the start line for journey construction will have to all the time be the attributes that make the Kingdom unique.
“We wish to make certain we focal point at the vital portions of what makes Saudi, Saudi. The folks, the tradition, the meals, the unbelievable websites, the heritage, the tales – those are the sorts of issues which can be in reality going to make an journey original,” mentioned Gillham.
“We shouldn’t get a hold of an journey after which attempt to put into effect heritage and tradition. It will have to be solely flipped. We focal point first on what makes Saudi Saudi, and we design our stories and sights round that.”
Danielle Curtis, Regional Portfolio Director – UAE, RX, mentioned: “As Saudi Arabia continues to put money into locations, hospitality, and leisure, there’s a important alternative to verify native communities are a part of that enlargement and get pleasure from it. The conversations happening at WTM Highlight Riyadh show how collaboration between communities, govt, locations and the personal sector can translate tourism funding into lasting financial price whilst protective the authenticity that makes Saudi Arabia the sort of compelling vacation spot.”
Customer registration for WTM Highlight Riyadh is now open, and trip execs can safe their position on the inaugural tournament and interact without delay with some of the international’s fastest-growing tourism markets. For exhibitor enquiries, please click on right here.
