Natural wonders

Geo-Tourism Development

Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is a country of stunning and diverse geology and landscapes, many of which are of global scientific importance as well as of deep cultural significance for the region.

The project to devise a countrywide strategy for KSA’s Geo-Tourism will see both the sustainable preservation of geological sites and the growth of the country’s tourism, a key priority for economic progression.

The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH), in partnership with Saudi Geological Survey (SGS), appointed Buro Happold to lead an interdisciplinary, international team to deliver this complex project.

Challenge

Central to this project was the need to identify sites that are of geological significance and require preservation and conservation, and identifying areas that could be developed further into tourist destinations, taking into account the projected growth of the Kingdom’s urban centres.

A vital element of our work was to understand the relationship between tourism and geologically important sites –  we found that the SCTNH and SGS held large quantities of previously unanalysed but highly relevant information that linked successful tourism assets, such as restaurants and leisure facilities, with the nation’s stunning landscapes.

In addition to the geological and cultural importance of the sites, our team also needed to balance this with practical accessibility and location considerations, providing a full insight into the destinations that will significantly develop KSA’s heritage as an economic and social asset. A key challenge was that some of the more remote areas of the Kingdom had not been mapped using modern techniques, making it difficult to determine exactly what was there and how suitable the assets were for the public to access.

Solution

Demonstrating our extensive knowledge and experience in working with sites of national importance, our team carefully analysed every aspect of each site to fully understand its preservation and development needs. We carried out a number of studies on differing scales, from a full survey of sites across the Kingdom, to the development of propositions for a selection of landscapes, forming masterplans for potential pilot projects.

To support our site studies, we also established a management framework and community engagement strategies. The creation of management frameworks brought together the preservation of the sites and the development of them as tourism assets under a single programme for the first time, enabling a cohesive approach to delivery of natural heritage tourism.

We devised a strategic approach to assessing all the available data- including our own gathered from the studies carried out by our engineers and that already in existence – examining the information for both sites of purely scientific interest and determining comparisons between other tourism offers and sites with heritage potential. Additionally, we invested in significant fieldwork to ascertain which locations have potential to be advanced, overcoming the lack of accurate mapping available.

Value

By successfully working with a bespoke team of experts both within KSA and internationally, BuroHappold was a key asset in the advancement of this project, and will also provide continued support throughout the implementation of KSA’s Geo-Tourism programme. Our team has helped to deliver a strategy that will enable important sites in the country to tell the story of KSA’s inspirational and unique geological heritage, while conserving its striking, dramatic landscapes for generations to come.