Prime Highlights
- Saudi Arabia has launched a 14‑member cross‑sector Advisory Board to guide TOURISE’s strategic vision and inaugural summit on 11–13 November, 2025, in Riyadh.
- The board unites world tourism, technology, aviation, entertainment, and academic leaders for innovation and sustainability.
Key Facts
- Tourism Minister Ahmed Al‑Khateeb chairs the TOURISE Advisory Board with WTTC, Amadeus, TikTok, Cirque du Soleil, and Saudi Tourism Authority leaders.
- The project seeks to reboot itself from a once-a-year summit to a global network throughout the year for tourism collaboration and planning.
Key Background
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Tourism announced its ambitious international tourism platform, TOURISE, and its 14-member cross-sector Advisory Board. The Advisory Board will be charged with strategy consulting and developing the inaugural edition of the summit, November 11-13, 2025 in Riyadh. Among the visions of being the world’s leader in tourism innovation and among Vision 2030 initiatives towards economic diversification and tourism industry development is the launch.
The Advisory Board, which is chaired by Tourism Minister Ahmed Al‑Khateeb, features the likes of Julia Simpson (President & CEO, WTTC), Luis Maroto (CEO, Amadeus), Blake Chandlee (former executive at TikTok), Stephane Lefebvre (CEO, Cirque du Soleil), Randy Durband (Global Sustainable Tourism Council), Mo Gawdat (founder, One Billion Happy), Thomas Woldbye (CEO, Heathrow Airport), and Fahd Hamidaddin (CEO, Saudi Tourism Authority and Vice‑Chair, TOURISE). This representative leadership reflects the dedication of TOURISE to equity, representation, and sector diversity in policymaking in tourism.
Besides an annual summit, TOURISE will also be envisioned as a year-round global partnership-building, policy forum, investment, and innovation hub. It will consist of working groups, innovation centers with latest technologies, research study publications, world indices, and big-league awards for the identification of sustainability, digital revolution, universal tourism, and cultural heritage. The first TOURISE Awards nomination will be invited in mid‑2025, and the winners will be announced at the inaugural ceremony of the summit.
This initiative takes advantage of Saudi Arabia’s amazing tourism growth. The Kingdom had 116 million visitors in 2024, achieving the goal of 100 million a whole seven years ahead of schedule and pumping nearly $76 billion into its economy. Tourism already contributes nearly 5% to the country’s economy, and Saudi Arabia is now a new world destination. TOURISE will make Saudi Arabia’s contribution to setting standards for sustainable and innovative tourism around the world.
