Tourism leaders urged Saudi Arabia to put local communities and heritage at the centre of destination development at WTM Spotlight Riyadh on September 9 as witnessed by Emerging Travel’s team.
The discussions focused on how tourism investment could generate income for residents while protecting cultural traditions and natural assets. Speakers examined the commercial viability of community experiences, from hospitality and handicrafts to food and heritage attractions.
Jost Neumann, programme coordinator for UN Tourism’s Tourism for Rural Development Programme, identified five priorities: local value creation, protection of living traditions, environmental stewardship, institutional coordination and access to markets.
He said community experiences also needed to meet quality, health and safety standards to become commercially viable, and highlighted AlUla as an example other destinations could learn from.
Silvia Barbone, vice-president for strategic partnerships at the Royal Commission for AlUla, said residents had been involved across heritage, culture, creative industries, sport and technology.
“We need to work on what is unknown to the world and make it known to the world,” she said. “There is such richness in terms of history, legacy, heritage and natural biodiversity.”
Barbone described an approach in which communities worked with government and international partners to shape tourism development.
Nourah Al-Sadoun, founder and chief executive of HiHome, discussed turning Saudi hospitality into a source of income. She said hosts had initially resisted accepting payment because of traditions of generosity.
“But we convinced them that this is the best way to make it sustainable,” she said.
In a separate session on heritage and entertainment, Warrior Group founder and chief executive Troy Gillham urged developers to build attractions around Saudi culture.
“We shouldn’t come up with an experience and then try to implement heritage and culture. It should be entirely flipped. We focus first on what makes Saudi Saudi, and we design our experiences and attractions around that.”
WTM Spotlight Riyadh runs from September 8–10 at the Riyadh Front Exhibition and Conference Centre.