Tag Archives: Journeys in Arabia

Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) will conduct a two-day roadshow curated for travel trade partners in the Middle East on 8th and 9th March 2021 from 8am to 8pm GST. The roadshow is part of STA’s ‘Journeys in Arabia’ virtual engagement series and is an opportunity for partners to meet one-on-one with senior representatives from the key destinations, experience, and hospitality brands. For the first time ever, local travel trade partners and key stakeholders are being brought together on one platform, to build relationships and stimulate conversations around potential commercial partnership opportunities. As it relates to leisure tourism, Saudi is a relatively new destination hence the focus is two-fold. While it is fundamental to drive awareness about Saudi amongst travelers around the world, also it is also critical to engage, educate and inspire travel trade partners about the diverse products and experiences that Arabia offers. Saudi Arabia aims to achieve 100 million annual visits to the Kingdom by 2030, made up of both domestic and international travelers. In order to achieve this goal, STA has developed a comprehensive strategy to drive the number of visits, increase spend and build a leading tourism brand for Saudi. Across the world, 15 priority leisure source markets have been identified spanning the GCC region, Asia, North America, and Europe. This is broken down further into three target segments, leisure, MICE, and spiritual travel. Since the opening of doors to leisure tourism in September 2019, STA has unveiled many new destinations and experiences for audiences from home and abroad. The Saudi offering is unique– its rich culture, deep heritage, diversity of landscapes and unparalleled hospitality. It is the authentic home of Arabia: a place of exploration, …

Bringing together Travel Trade Partners together for the first time, an exclusively curated webinar to explore and Discover Saudi’s exciting new tourism offerings was conducted online. The global travel industry is undergoing its most profound transformation. As the landscapes evolves, it is more important than ever to continue to inspire, engage and educate travel trade for when the world safely re-opens and travel resumes. Saudi Arabia is a relatively new destination on the global stage. As the authentic home of Arabia, Saudi offers unique, diverse and unparalleled experiences, a land of natural assets, rich culture and heritage and adventure. To bring to light the Saudi offering, the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) has launched ‘Journeys in Arabia’, an exclusive online event curated especially for Travel Trade Partners around the globe. The virtual engagement series, taking place across six markets around the world, is a first-of-its-kind initiative for STA, a source of inspiration and excitement, designed to inform partners about the diverse products and experiences that Arabia offers. The session provided insights into the current state of travel and the opportunities and challenges in addressing the growing demand and interest in Saudi as a new destination. Panelists discussed the huge shift in domestic travel and potential of the regional audience as an untapped segment, highlighting infrastructure, connectivity and capacity as the three fundamentals in further developing Saudi’s tourism ecosystem. Giga projects including NEOM were referenced as key in driving tourism to Saudi in the future, while investment into activities and experiences was also identified as critical components in elevating Saudi’s appeal amongst key stakeholders and potential partners.