Saudi Arabia’s Sustainable Tourism Initiatives Highlighted at COP29

At the COP29 UN Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia’s Sustainable Tourism Global Center (STGC) received special attention during an event titled ‘Tourism, Climate Action, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)’, which was hosted by Ajeel Al-Shaibani - Deputy Minister of Strategic Planning & Monitoring at the Ministry of Tourism - at the Saudi National Pavilion. The Deputy Minister also participated at a ministerial meeting on climate action in tourism.

Headquartered in Riyadh, the STGC serves as a platform for uniting global stakeholders to reduce tourism’s environmental impact, protect biodiversity, and support tourism-dependent communities. The STGC aims to provide tools, resources and partnerships to promote long-term sustainability in tourism by uniting governments, businesses, academia and civil society. The economic impact was also addressed during the conference, noting that global tourism is projected to contribute USD 11.1 trillion to the economy in 2024, with small and medium enterprises comprising 80% of the sector and women representing 40% of its workforce.

Key Vision 2030 projects were presented as examples of prioritising sustainability and infrastructure development in action such as NEOM, the zero-carbon city which has been preserving 95% of its land for nature, Red Sea Global, which is committed to carbon neutrality and zero waste to landfills, and King Salman International Airport, which is designed to meet LEED Platinum standards.