RIYADH, 19 April 2004 — The Supreme Commission for Tourism (SCT) has appointed a private branding consultancy to develop the Kingdom’s tourism brand identity.
This is the first partnership with the private sector to materialize under the Kingdom’s new tourism strategy.
The tie-up with Landor Associates, a global brand consulting and design agency, is slated to help attract more non-traditional foreign tourists to the Kingdom.
“Landor will develop a brand strategy to promote Saudi destinations for tourists over the next nine months,” SCT chief Prince Sultan ibn Salman said yesterday.
Landor has completed several destination-branding programs around the world including Hong Kong, Jordan and Al-Ain in the UAE. “Saudi Arabia is just waiting to be explored, and working with Landor we will encourage that by presenting our country like it’s never been seen before,” Prince Sultan said.
“Over the past few years, SCT has been laying the groundwork for promoting the tourism industry,” the SCT chief said.
The commission has also been looking at security, studying the experience of 17 countries around the world, they said.
Charles Wrench, Landor’s Europe president, said the focus of the branding campaign would be on changing people’s perceptions.
“The country needs to be seen in a new light by local and foreign tourists,” he said.
“The key is to position and package the Kingdom in a way that is relevant and attractive to the audience abroad within the context of Saudi cultural sensitivities and Islamic values,” he said.
He said there was huge untapped potential throughout the 13 provinces “and hence we will have to develop the best strategy with SCT to communicate the diversity and richness of these provinces to the prospective tourists inside the Kingdom and abroad,” he added.
The provinces are also in the process of setting up regional tourism authorities, a plan which was announced on Sunday following the meeting of the SCT board of directors.
SCT has stepped up efforts to tap the tourism potential of the country, focusing on developing both archeological sites and other attractions across the Kingdom, Prince Salman said.
SCT officials forecast major growth for domestic tourism in Saudi Arabia.
The Kingdom expects domestic tourism to generate around SR25 billion annually in coming years. Officials said more than 65 million tourist trips are recorded in the Kingdom annually, mainly by domestic tourists.
