Fascinating Journeys in Arabia Begins

To bring to limelight the immense and diverse potential of Saudi Arabia’s tourism, the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) has recently launched an exclusive online event curated especially for travel trade partners around the globe. The event is aptly named ‘Journeys in Arabia’.

The virtual engagement series, taking place across six markets around the world, is a first-of-its-kind initiative for STA. It is designed to disseminate information among partners about the diverse products and experiences that Saudi Arabia offers.

India has been identified as one of the key source markets for Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Tourism Authority’s tourism strategy focuses on promoting experiences related to culture, heritage, nature and adventure in Saudi Arabia, which were highlighted in the recently organised webinar titled  ‘Journeys in Arabia’.

In India ‘Journeys in Arabia’ webinar was attended by Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO, Saudi Tourism Authority; Abdullah Al Dakhil, International Communication Manager, Saudi Tourism Authority; celebrated Indian journalist Vir Sanghvi; Haitham Mattar, CCO, Saudi Tourism Authority; Benazir Nazar, CEO, Akbar Travels; Deep Kalra, Founder & Group Executive Chairman, Make My Trip; Madhavan Menon, Chairman & Managing Director, Thomas Cook Group; Rakshit Desai, Managing Director– India, FCM; Sheema Vohra, Managing Director, Sartha Global Marketing.

The session provided insights into the current state of travel, and the opportunities and challenges towards addressing the growing demand and interest in Saudi Arabia as a destination.

Some of the key highlights and market insights of the discussion were:

·         Indians, especially the online consumers and millennials among us, are late planners and regularly seek new destinations within close proximity to India for last-minute holiday planning. Short-duration packages, direct flights and ease in visa (preferably e-visas) procurement will be game changers for a relatively unexplored destination like Saudi.

·         Saudi offers exceptional experiences for diving, adventure sports, and sustainable tourism. The country will also host the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2021. These developments reflect the new travel motivations that leisure travellers  from India actively seek today

·         Two key considerations among the corporate/leisure market are awareness and attractiveness. While the former can be achieved through communication and information dissemination, via visual and video content on Saudi; attractiveness will come from exquisite on-ground experiences that visitors have while at the destination.

·         The high-end Umrah market from India is a major captive audience, which can offer the combination of pilgrimage with leisure tourism through post-Umrah leisure packages.

·         Promoting unique destinations like AlUla for wedding tourism will be a huge draw for Saudi.

·         Lastly, consumer behaviour has seen a drastic shift in the post-Covid world with both MICE and leisure travel experiencing a heightened ecological sensitivity. Travellers are now seeking clear information and assurance related to hygiene and safety.