During two sessions examining community tourism and the rapidly evolving experience economy, industry leaders explored how Saudi Arabia can combine its extraordinary cultural assets with modern tourism and entertainment while creating meaningful economic opportunities for local communities.
The Villages to Value Chains – Designing Community Tourism discussion, moderated by Ibrahim Osta, Senior Economic Growth Director and Global Tourism Lead at Chemonics International, brought together experts from UN Tourism, the Royal Commission for AlUla, the Ministry of Culture and HiHome, while the second session featured representatives from the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, Warrior Group and Roland Berger.
The discussions come as tourism plays an increasingly important role in Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification under Vision 2030. In 2025, the Kingdom welcomed nearly 123 million domestic and international visitors, generating more than SAR304 billion in tourism spending. As visitor numbers continue to grow, speakers highlighted the opportunity to ensure that tourism development creates long-term value while preserving the culture, identity and natural assets that differentiate Saudi Arabia as a destination.
Jost Neumann, Programme Coordinator for the Tourism for Rural Development Programme at UN Tourism, said successful community tourism depends on several interconnected priorities rather than a single solution.
“For community tourism to succeed, we’ve identified five critical priorities: local value creation, safeguarding living traditions and cultural identity, environmental stewardship, strong institutional coordination, and market readiness and market access so that great community experiences are commercially viable and meet quality, health, and safety standards.”
Saudi Arabia is already providing examples with international relevance, Neumann said, pointing to AlUla as a model other destination could learn from.
Silvia Barbone, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, Royal Commission for AlUla, emphasised that community participation has been embedded within AlUla’s development across heritage, culture, creative industries, sport, social activities, handicrafts, innovation and technology.
“We need to work on what is unknown to the world and make it known to the world,” said Barbone. “There is such richness in terms of history, legacy, heritage and natural biodiversity.”
She explained that the approach is centred on co-creation rather than imposing a predetermined tourism model, bringing the community together with government and international partners to develop a destination that protects what makes AlUla distinctive.
Nourah Al-Sadoun, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of HiHome, also highlighted the economic potential of community participation, discussing how Saudi Arabia’s tradition of hospitality can become part of a sustainable visitor economy.
“At the beginning, it was a new idea,” she said, explaining that hosts were initially reluctant to accept payment because of the Kingdom’s culture of generosity and hospitality. “But we convinced them that this is the best way to make it sustainable.”
The importance of authenticity continued during The Experience Economy: Blending Ancient Heritage with Modern Entertainment, where speakers explored how Saudi Arabia can combine thousands of years of history with contemporary entertainment, hospitality, technology and large-scale attractions.
Troy Gillham, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Warrior Group, said the starting point for experience development should always be the attributes that make the Kingdom distinctive.
“We need to make sure we focus on the important parts of what makes Saudi, Saudi. The people, the culture, the food, the incredible sites, the heritage, the stories – these are the types of things that are really going to make an experience authentic,” said Gillham.
“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.”
Danielle Curtis, Regional Portfolio Director – UAE, RX, said: “As Saudi Arabia continues to invest in destinations, hospitality, and entertainment, there is a significant opportunity to ensure local communities are part of that growth and benefit from it. The conversations taking place at WTM Spotlight Riyadh demonstrate how collaboration between communities, government, destinations and the private sector can translate tourism investment into lasting economic value while protecting the authenticity that makes Saudi Arabia such a compelling destination.”
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