RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Tourism development in Saudi Arabia is being designed to merge the commercial with the communal.
Commercial requirements stem from the need to recoup the huge sticker price for the country’s $100 billion hotel, facilities and infrastructure rollout, and communal requirements stem from the need for job creation and destination development and because Saudi culture comes from a Bedouin culture that places huge emphasis on hospitality to strangers.
On a panel at the Future Hospitality Summit, Ian Wilson, regional director for hospitality at The Line, NEOM, said working with communities is key to creating an atmosphere of dialogue and opportunity — particularly as some might not recognize hotels and hospitality for what they will mean to the community.
“How do you not annoy them, and then how do you wow them?” he said.
Technology will be at the core of advances that bolster revenue and human existence, said Choon Yang Quek, chief technology officer at the Saudi Tourism Authority.
“The country has a unique opportunity as to how its tourism future can be crafted,” he said.
The biggest example of this currently on the drawing board in Saudi Arabia is The Line, part of the NEOM giga-project.
It is being touted by management as a new way of urban living that will cover 34 acres and have a population of 9 million but be fully sustainable and preserving of the environment, a “city” that will be 105 miles long but only just a little more than 650 feet wide, according to promotional material.
“We will build an ecosystem of data and forward-thinking, certainly if we get rid of the more mundane tasks needed. We’ll be able to attract more and better brains,” Wilson said.
While that notion is not new in the hotel industry, it will take a great deal of training in a country such as Saudi Arabia that is new to large-scale tourism.
“We must focus on staff that are innovative, agile and willing to learn,” Wilson said.
Chris Godfrey, CEO at architecture and design company HBA, said he does not look at development as a linear proposition, but as a 360-degree one.
“In the kingdom, there is the opportunity to reframe hospitality as the center of communities and with modern methods of construction,” he said.
Full Speed Ahead
The Saudi Tourism Authority’s Quek said the country is building the best digital infrastructure to help rapidly capitalize on opportunities, but that will be pointless if local communities are not along for the journey.
“Probably, few people know what Saudi Arabia has to offer, but that is changing rapidly,” he said.
Hospitality must highlight convenience, comfort, health, stimulation and experience in line with the new demands of guests and residents, panelists said.
“Rooms are the places the hotel has the honor of housing guests, and it that is no different to inviting someone into your home,” Wilson said.
Quek said expectations of guests also have changed.
“We’re on a journey to change all the aspects how travel is experienced and appreciated,” he said.
“Do the rooms need to be in a line one by the other? Perhaps, premium rooms could be where all the premium retail is? Or, maybe, rooms could get delivery from a Michelin-starred restaurant in an adjacent mall?” he said.
Wilson, Quek and Godfrey said inspiration is coming from nature, other industries and advanced countries such as Korea, Singapore and the U.S.
“We’re looking at e-commerce, even the automotive sector, how it creates experiences and delivers on them,” Quek said.
“This is an unrivaled opportunity. We can strategize, and we can complete,” Godfrey said.
All Together Now
On another panel, Abdulsalam Alkuwaity, founder and CEO of business accelerator and seed-capital company SEA Ventures, said the Saudi government is not spending on infrastructure, but investing in it, and that investment is going to the right investors, who are focused on sustainability and returns.
Guy Hutchinson, president and CEO at Rotana Hotel Management Co., said even having worked in the United Arab Emirates for many years, he has no doubt Saudi Arabia is offering the fastest-growing hospitality platform in the world.
He said the country has a private-sector, investor-centric model, excellent initial accelerators and a clear strategy.
“When you then add the public sector involvement, what you have will be huge,” he said.
“It is not a case of can Saudi Arabia leapfrog [other destinations]; they will. There is an IT awareness and an entrepreneurial zeal. We fully expect to find startups from Saudi Arabia that we will eventually migrate across our portfolio.”
Alkuwaity said the country does not have the same talent and staffing problems that Europe and the U.S. have.
“Making 75,000 people redundant was short-sighted, and they are paying the price now,” Hutchinson said.
“Yes, Saudi has a skills-set challenge, so that needs to be worked on quickly. We require a strong training culture, and we must see that as our responsibility, not just one of the hotel schools,” he added.
Alkuwaity said that change will happen quickly.
“Another example. We told the [Saudi] government there were too many planes and what we needed is a rail system. It was approved within a month,” he said.