New Saudi tourism campaign claims country is a destination “for all”

Saudi Arabia has launched a new and inclusive campaign designed, according to the CEO of its tourism agency, to appeal to “all” adventurers.

From trepidation to a warm welcome

A new video heads up the “This Land is Calling” campaign, using a solo woman protagonist depicted alone in a range of sea and landscapes, wearing sci-fi and Lara Croft style outfits as she navigates adventures and goes from “trepidation” to feeling a “warm welcome”, as campaign materials put it.

Why might a lone female traveller to the Saudi Kingdom feel “trepidation”? Until recently, women had fewer rights in the country than men but changes intended by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to “eradicate the remnants of extremism” now mean that women are supposed to be able to drive, and have the right to get their own passports, travel abroad and live independently without the permission of a male guardian, or “wali”.

The new tourism campaign reflects this modernisation, which is part of the Saudi Vision 2030 strategy to pivot away from a fossil-fuel driven economy and become a global “destination of choice for all”, says Fahd Hamidaddin, the tourism agency’s CEO.

A multifaceted country experiencing huge tourism growth

Shown without a headcovering and with bare arms, the video’s protagonist explores “rolling dunes and snow-covered mountains and the vibrant corals of the Red Sea” in what the campaign calls “a visceral look at a multifaceted country, where monuments are frozen in time, and history can be seen, touched, and felt.”

Against a stirring soundtrack, destinations depicted include Sheybarah Island, the 1^st century AD UNESCO World Heritage site of Hegra, and the lush AlUla oasis. Highly professional, and glossy yet authentic-seeming, the campaign clip is likely to succeed in bringing even more visitors to the Kingdom, which has seen exponential growth in the travel sector with a 73% increase in average tourist numbers from Europe and the United States, according to official figures. It is targeting 150 million tourists by 2030.

A changing landscape for inclusion?

Whether the country is truly a destination “for all” remains questionable, to say the least. While the campaign reflects changing attitudes towards women’s rights, it’s important to point out that both male and female homosexuality remains illegal in Saudi Arabia, and can be punished by indefinite imprisonment and the death penalty.

However, change is on its way, the video seems to suggest. The film culminates with our lone woman adventurer coming face-to-face with another, apparently Saudi, woman. They lock eyes in what seems to be a baton-passing moment, as the voiceover declares: “I was the first, but I won’t be the last.”