The National Tourism Strategy aims to leverage the opportunities of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which focuses on creating a vibrant society, thriving economy, and an ambitious nation. Reforms under Vision 2030 have played a key role in helping the national economy navigate the pandemic.
The Ministry of Tourism’s main policy priorities include maximising tourism’s contribution to GDP, creating jobs, improving tourism infrastructure and competitiveness, transforming tourism to be a more resilient and sustainable sector, and attracting investment to the sector.
In 2021, Saudi Arabia announced the Sustainable Tourism Global Centre, a multi-country, multi‑stakeholder coalition established to lead, accelerate, and track the tourism industry’s transition to net- zero emissions, as well as driving actions to protect nature, climate, and communities.
Sustainability policies are issued to support sustainability and tackle climate change in the sector. Initiatives on this topic will be led by the Saudi Green Initiative, the new Sustainable Tourism Global Centre, tourism destination management organisations and the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture.
As for the recovery from COVID‑19, Saudi Arabia’s COVID‑19 policy responses were aimed at ensuring the survival of businesses in stage one and a faster recovery to sustainable growth in stage two. The government closely observed and calibrated its response against a set of key indicators and aspects that stimulated and catered to the needs of MSMEs, and the tourism sector (see box below).
In 2020, Saudi Arabia announced the creation of a Tourism Development Fund with an initial capital of approximately SAR 15 billion. Additionally, Saudi Arabia exempted companies operating in the tourism sector from issuance/renewal license fees.
Since the pandemic, Saudi Arabia has launched several initiatives surrounding skills and employment:
A new human capital development (AHLHA) strategy, launched in 2020, which aims to develop the tourism sector by attracting more Saudi nationals to the sector. Several local efforts have followed to support those ambitions.
The Tourism Shapers programme, launched in 2021 by STA, is an employment initiative that aims to equip the local private sector with the support needed to navigate and manage the evolving tourism landscape.
The Ministry of Tourism launched the “Tourism Pioneers” programme, which aims to develop the capabilities of 100 000 young people and provide them with key skills in the field of hospitality, tourism and travel to prepare them to work in the tourism sector. The programme includes investments worth over USD 100 million.
Saudi Arabia has also launched several initiatives around innovation and entrepreneurship:
The Tourism Entrepreneurs Bootcamp was launched in 2021, with the aim to transform innovative ideas into sustainable businesses via an intensive programme for entrepreneurs. The Bootcamp received over 3 000 applicants across 15 cities, of which 30 were ultimately nominated to take part in the final round to obtain funding.
The Ministry also launched the Tourism Entrepreneurship Accelerator in 2021 to support select start-ups in the tourism space in scaling up their business and expanding service offerings. The Accelerator programme received over 1 200 tourism start-up applications, of which 15 were selected to enter the six-month programme. Throughout this programme, the Ministry of Tourism provided benefits and services totalling over SAR 1 million, alongside 180 hours of workshops and 1 300 hours of one-to-one mentoring.
In 2022, the Mustasharik programme (also known as Mix & Mentor programme) was launched following feedback from the Saudi tourism entrepreneurship community, aimed at providing mentorship and workshop sessions for entrepreneurs across the start-up lifecycle from ideation to scale-ups.
