Having welcomed over 100 million tourists in 2023, Saudi is the land of now or so it seems. This boom has continued in 2024, with the first quarter of the year witnessing a double-digit growth increase in tourists compared to the same period last year - bolstering Saudi’s position as a leading global tourism destination and driving progress towards its revised target of 150 million visits by 2030, as it has exceeded its target of 100 million tourists in 2023 - seven years ahead of schedule.
Tourism development is an important driver of growth for the future of Saudi. It is one of the key pillars at the heart of Vision 2030’s plan to help diversify the economy and reduce reliance on oil.
In total, there were 106 million tourists in 2023 made up of 27.4 million international and 79.3 million domestic tourists - an increase of more than 10% compared to 2022 and accelerating progress towards the increased 150 million tourists target by 2030.
Visitor numbers are still growing and Q1 2024 has already witnessed a 10% year-on-year increase in the number of tourists and a 17% increase in tourist spending.
KSA: It’s change, but not as we know it
‘THIS LAND IS CALLING’
Several news fell the same day from the kingdom: MSL Group Middle East welcomes Nadin Al-Alami as Business Lead, overseeing all operations in Saudi Arabia. FP7 McCann MENA has appointed Nourhan Moaz as Creative Director for FP7McCann KSA. Two women as major directors in agencies in the kingdom.
On that same day, as part of a campaign that celebrates Saudi Arabia's diverse culture, IMPACT BBDO has created the ‘I AM SAUDI’ typeface for The Saudi Investment Bank. The typeface is inspired by the architecture, art, and traditions of different regions across the Kingdom; each letter represents the unique heritage of these regions, symbolizing the country's unity through diversity.
Elsewhere, Christiano Ronaldo, the famed Portuguese footballer, has been recruited by Al Nassr football club in KSA for a deal of 213 Million USD a year, including various endorsements starting 2022. Meanwhile, Argentinian footballer Messi is singing the praises of Saudi tourism along with his family, including photogenic family photos at diverse Saudi touristic places.
Apparently, statistics indicate that a total of 77.84 Million people did visit the kingdom in 2022. Of course a great deal includes those headed to the Hajj and Omra (Omra is visiting the holy sites outside of the Hajj season) as opposed to regular tourists.
Inbound tourism according to the same source was 16.64 million people. Already in 2022, religious tourism was 37%, visiting friends and relatives was 31%, business was 10%... So "leisure" and "other" were 18% only.
2023 figures indicate that 55% of the inbound tourists who visited Saudi Arabia traveled mainly for religious purposes. In comparison, 9% of the inbound trips to the Kingdom were business-related matters as the main reason for the trip. Still national airlines Saudia, with the help of Leo Burnett MENA did an ad singing the praises of the kingdom, its geography, topography, culture, and inhabitants.
Of course, the ability for women to drive in 2017 – with driving licenses being issued for women starting 2018 - was a major kick of social change. Even then though, in a Saudi newspaper, a woman said that it was a “man’s duty to drive her around rather than drive herself”.
Interestingly, in October 1987, American magazine National Geographic issued a photo of a Bedouin woman driving a truck. Bedouins still live in parts of the desert however, which could explain how the feat happened in the first place.
MEGA PROJECTS
Architecturally, the kingdom is booming in changes. The famed linear city NEOM being one of the most fabled creations. However, it seems that while exhibiting the city, images were actually rendered by game designers rather than actual architects. Also, NEOM – as of April this year – has been majorly scaled back to the tune of 2.4 km; by the end 2030, it would end up housing 300,000 people apparently instead of the promised 1.5 million. Also, it seems that the "death trap" the city was to migrant birds is no more - not to mention the Howeitat tribe, which will no longer be displaced from their land.
Also, plans for the Jeddah tower, which will be even higher than the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, are afoot; this without forgetting the major “Mukaab” in Riyadh, a massive cube-shaped city. The sprawling mega project is the size of 20 Empire State Buildings and comes complete with racetracks for flying cars and immersive experiences that mimic visits to other planets.
Recently, Linkedin, the professional version of Facebook owned by Microsoft, has been full of creative profiles – creative directors, illustrators, artists, graphic designers and many other people from different walks of the artistic spectrum - proclaiming they “joined the squad”.
ON THE EVENT FRONT
The squad in question? It is the Saudi Arabia FIFA World Cup 2034 bid, which was finally won.
That the kingdom, within its ambitious 2030 project wishes to be visible on the sports field is no surprise. It helps reminding that Qatar hosted the 2022 edition of the FIFA World Cup for men, so having it twice in the Middle East is no mean feat especially that the kingdom is certainly willing to go above and beyond for this event.
Funnily, a long time ago this writer had the chance to accompany Saudi winners of a draw to watch the Formula 1 race in Monza. When asking one of the flyers on the way back on his impressions – sitting on the grid start right opposite Michael Schumacher, the 5-star hotel etc. - he replied “ah bass mich koura” (yes, but that wasn’t football). Just to indicate how big football is for the Saudis.
Artistically, no effort is being spared. Turki Al Sheikh, the Saudi Arabian adviser at the Royal Court under the rank of Minister and the current Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, is bringing all A-listers to perform in the kingdom. Singers from the region rush to be at his good graces to secure a spot in “Riyadh Season”, the yearly series of entertainment, cultural, and sporting events held in the Saudi Arabian capital.
Al Sheikh is even now proposing to redo two films from the archive of Egyptian mega star “Al Za’im” Adel Imam and directed by his son, Mohamed Imam. Also, Al Sheikh is proposing a film where Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram would be the major star.
However, this “move fast and break things” mantra, which was applied to Silicon Valley prior has also had its detractors: Actor Mohamad Salam withdrew from the play in “solidarity with the Gaza victims”, whereas the other star of the play “An Industrial Wedding” Bayoumi Fouad went on to perform the play in KSA – the play is a comedy to be clear. Fouad’s stance left many annoyed in his homeland, Egypt.
Architecture wise, AlUla region, with its resort, which has attracted the likes of multi-hyphenate Kanye West (currently known as Ye), without forgetting he ski resort of Trojena and the floating port and industrial city of Oxagon.
Apart from the afore-mentioned Jeddah tower, the “world destination” of Jeddah Central, 5.7million sq metres of waterfront development featuring an opera house, a stadium, an oceanarium and a museum. Not to be dwarfed, and also apart from the “Mukaab”, which we talked about earlier, in the capital of Riyadh, a brigade of cranes is building Diriyah Gate, a $63.2bn “iconic lifestyle destination” and “sustainable landmark”, with 41 “world-class” hotels, homes for 100,000 residents and 26 cultural attractions, also with a golf course and equestrian centre, around the UNESCO-listed mud-brick city of At-Turaif.
Oddly, major international public artworks have always been present in Saudi Arabia. Jeddah has hosted major public artworks already. However, these date back to as early as the 1980s – beautiful pieces by the likes of Victor Vasarely or Julio Lafuente (and his work “Speed”) adorn the city--an indicator that international art has been seeping through the kingdom for a long time already even if the population was not very enthusiastic about it, at the time at least.
ON SAUDIS & SAUDIZATION
Which brings us to the topic of the population itself. Current statistics indicate that people under 30 years old are 63% of the population. The percentage is nothing less than staggering. Crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman, is himself 38 and is seen as a role model for this new ambitious generation – a generation with one foot in its traditions and the other towards the promising future.
When “MBS”, as he is affectionately known, wore a Brunello Cuccinelli zip-up gilet for a visit of the AlUla site, demand for it went through the roof of men wanting to emulate his style. So much that sites were proposing “dupes” of the Cuccinelli jacket with its astronomic price from much cheaper places such as Aliexpress.
Sartorial choices aside, this enormous percentage of youth among the population brings the pressing questions of employment and housing and other social issues.
Already, for three decades now there has been what was termed as “Saudization”. Literally, replacing expats in jobs by Saudi people. When the process started, the first wave was nothing short of a fiasco – expats were sacked with enormous compensation packages, but at the time the Saudis were ill-fitted to replace them, so the same expats were rehired at even higher packages.
Three decades later, current statistics indicate that any company with more than 100 employees has to have 30% of Saudis – there are even talks to increase this figure to 50% and beyond. The figure changes however by field and license type.
In the advertising sector, Saudization might be up against a different foe: most large agencies belong to networks, so “centralized” campaigns for pan-GCC markets are the norm. Such campaigns rely more on “foreign”, sometimes even non-Arabic speaking, creative directors in the regional offices, whose ideas are “Arabized” and applied to brands. Local voices are not always present, and if present not always heard and their input not always on the forefront of the creative endeavor.
ON LOCALIZATION IN ADVERTISING
This is not to say that local flavors are not present, or that campaigns are not targeting the Saudi consumer.
For the National Saudi Day 2024, Heinz – the famous brand mostly known for its ketchup – has launched a brandless packaging of the bottles, entirely removing its logo leaving an empty green keystone to offer space for shoppers to personalize their own messages of celebration. These messages were also displayed on digital outdoor screens across the kingdom for an entire week. Additionally, people were able to scan a QR code displayed on billboards across Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam to submit their National Day messages.
So local initiatives are still alive and kicking, with ideas and concepts specifically tailored to the Saudi consumer. And of course, campaigns such as the Heinz one have one eye on the consumer and the other on the award shows. Speaking of which, the fact that Saudi agencies have bagged five grand prix at the Dubai Lynx Awards this year speaks volumes about their seriousness about competing on the international stage, even if it means punching above their weight. Four of the five Grand Prix went to 'ProtecTasbih', for Saudia, entered by Leo Burnett, Jeddah.
As per their official introduction: “ProtecTasbih, created in collaboration with creative agency partners, are the first prayer beads that offer a dual function, seamlessly combining the spiritual practice of tasbih with the added benefit of hand sanitization. This innovative creation redefines the traditional prayer beads, reflecting a harmonious blend of cultural reverence and modern health consciousness.”
Once more, the idea is purely “local” or at least directed towards the locals and the influx visitors. Just to put things into context, and this without even counting the COVID19 effect, the Hajj season brings with it a major influx of sicknesses to the kingdom considering the incredible amount of visitors and their interactions with the locals. So the hand sanitization effect, of course combined with the “tasbih” (praising of the Lord) would lessen this issue.
Interestingly, if these ideas and campaigns prove anything it is that local concepts affect consumers, who tend to react to them. Of course, a brand like Saudia, the national airline, is not waiting for a campaign about worry beads to attract further passengers, but the derivative of the campaign is that the health of the people onboard and later – when they visit the holy sites – resonates deeply with local values considering that the monarch of the kingdom has been knows since 1986 as “Servant of the Two Holy Cities”.
ON YOUTH & TALENT
Also major efforts are being done to spike the youth’s interest in the advertising industry in the kingdom.
One such initiative is the Athar festival. In their introduction for this year MCN | Middle East Communications Network announced its partnership with the Festival, which took place on November 5-6 in Riyadh. As partner of the Student Creative Academy, MCN brought together seasoned industry leaders from its agencies, including FP7McCann, UM, Initiative, MRM, Jack Morton, and Weber Shandwick, to mentor and nurture the next wave of undergraduate Saudi creative talent across multiple disciplines, including events, tech, PR, digital, strategy, content creation, and media.
The aim of the partnership according to MCN is to cultivate homegrown talent and drive further diversity, innovation, and growth within the Marketing and Communication industry. Delivered in English and Arabic, the program is designed to equip the next generation of creatives with the skills and insights needed to thrive in advertising, communications, and marketing.
Another initiative is the Saudi Ad School. The SAS as it is abbreviated does what it says on the tin. It provides courses, mentorships, job placements and all else expected from such a lofty initiative. Its website details clearly its mission and how it aims to fulfill them. In their own words: “(our) mission is to provide comprehensive and industry-focused training programs that equip industry’s talents with the skills, knowledge, and mindset needed to excel in the real world of advertising industry. With a strong emphasis on creativity, innovation, and cultural understanding, Saudi Ad School strives to create a new breed of Saudi communicators who can shape the future of advertising in the Kingdom.”
Yes, there is much going in the kingdom, going in all directions at once. Perhaps a little too many things at once within a very ambitious frame. “It’s change, Jim, but not as we know it” to misquote the song Star Trekkin’ by The Firm.
