Articles tagged “saudi arabia”

Since Saudi Arabia introduced a new tourist visa on Sept. 28, the focus has been on what it means for non-Muslim leisure travelers. But the new visa holds a bigger significance for the huge Muslim travel market in Asia and elsewhere.

Businesses can’t resist the opportunities that a new frontier brings. In the case of Saudi Arabia, however, the gamble they take is whether tourists will actually go, given the kingdom’s poor image. The adage "build and they will come" is being tested.

Beyond the glare of overdevelopment, Asia’s resorts want to be a pioneer of the sustainability movement. Here’s how they say they will do that.

On World Tourism Day, it's worth pointing out that politics and tourism don't exist independently of each other — they collide.

Saudi Arabia certainly put a lot of thought and money into its latest promotional pitch ahead of a rumored e-visa scheme. But it takes more than drone shots to kick off a successful tourism marketing strategy — clarity in message matters too.

Saudi Arabia is expanding its infrastructure to support 15 million Umrah visitors a year by 2020, and 30 million by 2030. WebBeds and Agoda are two major Asian players that are jostling for position in the promising niche.

Uber needs to shed its Saudi Arabia investment as long as Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman remains in power, and the country bombs innocents in Yemen. Uber's leaders know they have to do this, but how they dump their Saudi investment and the extent of the divorce remain to be seen.

This story is yet more fodder supporting one of Skift's megatrends for 2018, which was that travel brands no longer get political at their own risk — they avoid politics at their own risk, given consumer expectations.

This development might be the worst-kept secret in theme park history. We're not sure what took Six Flags so long to seal the deal, but we do know the arrangement fits squarely into the operator's strategic goals — as long as everything goes according to plan.

Six Flags may not be ready to formally announce a park in Saudi Arabia, but we would not be surprised if plans are in the works.