The Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) has launched Tourism Shapers, a new initiative to support the learning and development of local travel trade partners in the tourism private sector. As Saudi Arabia continues to develop its destination offering for local, regional and international audiences, it is now more important than ever to enable and empower the private sector. "Across the Kingdom, we are seeing different types of small-to-medium sized businesses transform their working models and offering so that tourism is at the heart of their core product," said Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO of the Saudi Tourism Authority. "Businesses are beginning to think differently about the future, recognizing the immense growth opportunities within the tourism sector and how they must adapt, evolve and innovate to meet the needs of their customer." Tourism Shapers aims to not only support the growth of the tourism ecosystem, but to inspire small-to-medium sized businesses in Saudi Arabia to recognize the opportunities within the industry, so they can grow their business and their livelihood. The first-of-its-kind initiative began with a series of monthly interactive webinars. Each session focuses on a different topic, designed to equip the audience with best practices, key insights, and information to keep them informed on the tourism industry's constant evolution. The first webinar, ‘The Future of Travel and Tourism', brought together thought leaders Noor Nugali, assistant editor-in-chief, Arab News, travel expert and founder of start-up enabler, Why Bolt, Aya Sadder, and Abdulrahman Bakhsh, private sector partnerships director at STA, to share insights and their view on the tourism industry of tomorrow and how businesses can adapt and evolve for the future. During the session, keynote speaker Sadder shed light on how businesses need to be more agile during uncertain times. "Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world, it is constantly transforming and businesses must be ready to adapt. The future of the industry will focus on building more resilient communities and businesses through innovation, effective partnerships and readiness to embrace digitalization," said Sadder. "The future of tourism is dependent on building partnerships at all levels," said Hamidaddin. "Tourism Shapers is just one initiative through which STA is sharing ideas and insights that will help empower our partners to win their share of visitation." The next webinar, which focuses on pricing strategy for tourism businesses, will be broadcast on March 17, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. KSA time via the Tourism Shapers website. — SG
