SACM - United Kingdom
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://drepo.sdl.edu.sa/handle/20.500.14154/9667
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Item Restricted Enhancing the Pilgrimage Experience: An In-depth Analysis of Religious Tourism for Hajj in Makkah, Saudi Arabia(Middlesex University, 2024) Farea, Fahd; Terzidou, MatinaExecutive Summary Hajj is one of the most important events in the Islamic calendar, often requiring Muslims to attend the event at least once in their lives. Each year, the event attracts millions of people, leading to congestion especially due to the growing number of unauthorised pilgrims. Although the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah (MHU) is responsible for planning Hajj during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah from the 8th- 12th day of the month, some of the events have been marred with casualties as stampedes result in thousands of people being injured. Furthermore, the event occurs during the summer which means extreme heat, often affecting the elderly. In recent years, technologies have been used in an attempt to improve the experience and organisation of pilgrims. To investigate the social phenomenon, this study adopted an interpretivist approach through a descriptive design, an inductive approach and qualitative semi structured interviews. The goal was to provide the participants an opportunity to explain their ideas, beliefs and experiences. The current study also includes twelve participants purposively selected from three agencies that organise or facilitate the Hajj experience in one way or another. From the thematic analysis of the interviews, the current research found that the expectations of Hajjis play a crucial role in shaping their experience during the pilgrimage. Finally, the study found that communication challenges from non-Arab speakers particularly, climate issues and infrastructural issues account for some of the main challenges that affect the pilgrim experience for Hajjis in Saudi Arabia.18 0Item Restricted A Study of Revitalizing and Protecting Historical Sites in Al Ahsa for Tourism to Achieve Saudi Vision 2030(University of Sheffield, 2024-09) AlOmran, Abdulaziz; Williams, GlynThis study investigates the revitalization and preservation of historical sites in Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia, to promote heritage tourism and support the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. It also highlights the vital role of local community engagement in preserving and revitalizing historical sites. The study focuses on three main areas: (1) how the social and economic benefits of these sites can stimulate local engagement; (2) factors that contribute to declining visitation rates; and (3) community attitudes, behaviours, and motivations toward heritage conservation. Using semi-structured interviews with heritage and tourism sector officials and opinion polls of Al Ahsa residents, the findings reveal a generational gap: younger residents show less interest in historical sites than older residents, who have deeper cultural and historical ties. The study suggests that enhancing economic opportunities associated with these sites could attract younger people to participate in their preservation, while older residents are more motivated by cultural pride. In addition, poor marketing, inadequate facilities, and limited services were identified as significant barriers to increasing visitor numbers. These insights underscore the need for comprehensive strategies that balance economic development with heritage preservation, enhance community engagement, and improve infrastructure to ensure sustainable tourism growth. The study findings contribute to understanding how Al Ahsa’s historical sites can be leveraged to enhance local identity, pride, and economic growth, which aligns with the broader goals of Saudi Vision 2030.17 0Item Restricted Understanding the role of branding in shaping perceptions of Saudi Arabia as a tourist destination(University of Leeds, 2024-09) Alharthi, Dalia Talal; Papadopoulou, ChristinaThis dissertation aims to understand the role of branding in shaping perceptions of Saudi Arabia as a tourist destination from the citizens’ point of view and to highlight the Vision 2030 goals and how they have affected these perceptions. Given that Saudi Arabia is the second most popular destination for tourists in the Middle East and that the leisure tourism industry is rapidly growing and expanding, it is important to examine the impact of this growing industry local culture. This study is significant as it provides valuable insights into the real perceptions of Saudi Arabian citizens and how these perceptions may shape their future. It also highlights the goals of the promising Vision 2030 and how it will impact the economy and reduce the dependence on oil as an alternative source of revenue. The study used a quantitative research approach, collecting data through a questionnaire survey of 194 Saudi Arabian citizens from different ages and backgrounds, including both the general population and experts in the tourism industry. The results were analysed using the SPSS, and it was concluded that there is significant relationship between variables studied in Saudi Arabia. Overall, the study provides valuable insights into understanding the role of branding in shaping perceptions of Saudi Arabia as a tourist destination and highlights the the potential outcomes.14 0Item Restricted Assessing Environmental Degradation and Sustainability Claims in AlUla City(University of Leicester, 2024) Bakhsh, Talah; Gosh, AdityaThis study explores the impact of tourism activities on biodiversity in AlUla, Saudi Arabia, with a focus on understanding how different tourism components, such as heritage site visitation, infrastructure development, adventure tourism, and event-related activities, affect the region's natural environment. Employing a quantitative research design, the study gathers data from 262 stakeholders, including local residents, tourists, businesses, and environmental organizations. Data was collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using statistical methods, including descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression analysis. The findings reveal significant correlations between tourism activities and biodiversity degradation, highlighting the role of infrastructure development and adventure tourism in exacerbating environmental pressures. Event-related activities were also found to contribute to biodiversity challenges, though to a lesser degree. These results underscore the need for sustainable tourism practices that balance economic growth with environmental conservation. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on sustainable tourism by providing empirical evidence from the unique context of AlUla, a region rich in cultural heritage and biodiversity. The insights gained offer practical recommendations for policymakers, environmentalists, and tourism stakeholders aiming to develop tourism strategies that mitigate negative environmental impacts while promoting sustainable growth. The study emphasizes the importance of integrating environmental sustainability into tourism planning to preserve the region's biodiversity for future generations.11 0Item Restricted Enhancing the Pilgrimage Experience: An In-depth Analysis of Religious Tourism for Hajj(Middlesex University, 2024-09) Farea, Fahd; Terzidou, MatinaSummary Hajj is one of the most important events in the Islamic calendar, often requiring Muslims to attend the event at least once in their lives. Each year, the event attracts millions of people, leading to congestion especially due to the growing number of unauthorised pilgrims. Although the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah (MHU) is responsible for planning Hajj during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah from the 8th- 12th day of the month, some of the events have been marred with casualties as stampedes result in thousands of people being injured. Furthermore, the event occurs during the summer which means extreme heat, often affecting the elderly. In recent years, technologies have been used in an attempt to improve the experience and organisation of pilgrims. To investigate the social phenomenon, this study adopted an interpretivist approach through a descriptive design, an inductive approach and qualitative semi structured interviews. The goal was to provide the participants an opportunity to explain their ideas, beliefs and experiences. The current study also includes twelve participants purposively selected from three agencies that organise or facilitate the Hajj experience in one way or another. From the thematic analysis of the interviews, the current research found that the expectations of Hajjis play a crucial role in shaping their experience during the pilgrimage. Finally, the study found that communication challenges from non-Arab speakers particularly, climate issues and infrastructural issues account for some of the main challenges that affect the pilgrim experience for Hajjis in Saudi Arabia.10 0Item Restricted A study of perceptions of Saudi Arabia as a tourism destination, and the implications for the development of incoming tourism.(University Of Reading, 2024-09-04) Alsanie, Alhanouf; Bebek, GayeSaudi Arabia has undertaken several efforts and projects to improve the tourism sector and establish a desirable destination among international visitors, in line with its new vision 2030 to become the primary player in the industry. This research paper examines Saudi Arabia's existing image as an international vacation spot in the eyes of international travellers and pinpoints the variables affecting the growth of the industry. Examining this subject will provide the opportunity to better understand, explore and find answer to the main aim of this research which is, how the world currently perceives Saudi Arabia and how its image is currently perceived by people on the global stage. This research will be done through a qualitative approach by conducting a virtual interview with 12 international travellers from different backgrounds in a way that will allow to have a valuable insights and deep understanding of various people’s perceptions regarding Saudi Arabia. The outcomes of this research will show different perception of Saudi Arabia as a destination for tourism, formed by the influencing factors which could be positive or negative. With these valuable insights and data, we will be able to assess the efficacy and limitations of government efforts and strategies to promote tourism, enhance the image to set ourselves apart from competitors. The finding of this research plays a significant role in transforming and developing the future of tourism industry in Saudi Arabia to become an appealing global destination for tourists.4 0Item Restricted The Economic Ripple Effect of Tourism: Insights from Saudi Arabia's Growth and Local Communities(University of Glasgow, 2024) Alatif, Munis; Patrizia, RigantiThe research aimed to measure tourism's impact on Saudi Arabia by investigating the industry's ability to contribute to the country's GDP, create new job opportunities, and impact the local community. The research approach also used secondary data methodology, which used two approaches to collect the data on tourism impact: quantitative and qualitative methods. The research found that the tourism industry in Saudi Arabia has both direct and indirect impacts on Saudi Arabia. As a result, tourism contributed to the total GDP of Saudi Arabia between 2019 to 2022 by 3.8 to 3.0% as a direct impact. Moreover, the study showed the links between the number of tourists, tourist spending, and employment opportunities related to economic growth in Saudi Arabia, which might have an indirect impact on the tourism industry in Saudi Arabia. However, in addition to its positive impact, the tourism sector had a negative effect on the Saudi Arabian community, particularly on the cultural structure. Thus, this report represents the impact of tourism on social, cutlery, and policy strategy in Saudi Arabia how the kingdom shifted the economy from oil sources to the non-oil sector, and how the government reduced the cultural harm from tourism practice. This work not only provides a comprehensive understanding of the social economy and the tourism industry's impact on Saudi Arabia but also offers practical insights and recommendations. It presents a detailed analysis of the Saudi government's strategies and the current state, potentials, strategy, and forward insights for sustainable tourism development. By doing so, this study not only enhances our understanding of the impact of the tourism industry in Saudi Arabia but also provides valuable guidance for future policy and strategy development in the country12 0Item Restricted THE IMPACT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ON THE TOURISM SECTOR IN THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA(Bournemouth University, 0024-05-24) Alrashdi, Mohammed Sulaiman; ShivaThe research is based on the importance of public transportation development and its impact on the tourism industry of Saudi Arabia (SA). It highlights the impact of developing the transport facility that can help in attracting the potential tourist from the UK. SA has potential tourist destination in the country that makes it one of the major tourist spot for the visitors around the globe. The research questions have identified in the research that highlights various aspects of the research topic. In the theoretical framework, the innovation and future development process of SA’s public transportation system highlights the adoption of new technologies and scientific techniques. The developed strategies of public transportation in tourism contribute to enhance its profitability. The strategies of Tourism marketing follow and understand the needs and expectations of customers for online bookings, focusing on mobile, as well as optimized market. Sustainable tourism widely focuses on schemes to create a low carbon as well as encourage travel. Scientific Management Theory and Diffusion of Innovation Theory develop new ideas and practices of tourism key concepts. The research methodology introduces the concept and benefits of positivism research philosophy, deductive research approach, and descriptive research design. The data collection method is done through primary quantitative method from survey. Reliability and validity are used in research study for maintain accuracy and consistency of research study. Random sampling is used for collecting responses from 155 people working in Saudi Arabian tourism sector. Ethical considerations are used in research paper to protect it from any type of harm. Findings and discussion of the research topic is by conducting an online survey among 155 participants regarding the 11 questionnaires. Public Transport helps in reducing carbon emissions and traffic congestion in the country for tourist’s attraction that are environment conscious. The development of Saudi vision 2030 strategy focuses on developing the sector of tourists. The outcome of the research has been identified. It identifies that development and innovation of the PT system improves tourism comfort ability and safety. Some recommendations on the development of PT have also been given; the future scope and research limitation have also been identified here.33 0Item Restricted The Tourism Shift in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after the COVID-19 pandemic(Bournemouth University, 2024-07-10) Alhazmi, Ghyda; Zadeh, Shiva IlkhaniThe COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected international tourism, and KSA tourism in particular. This paper aims to examine the impact of the pandemic on the tourism industry of Saudi Arabia and the changes it brought to those consumers’ preferences and industries. In-depth face-to-face interviews have been conducted with several industry players alongside the development of structured questionnaires to establish new knowledge about the difficulties and possibilities in the industry. As the kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been solely dependent on oil resources for its major income source, the kingdom has been coming up with measures like Vision 2030 in which there has been an emphasis on the growth of the tourism industry. In particular, before the impact of COVID-19, the sector was one of the major sources of the country’s income and a significant employer of the population; in fact, it contributed about 7% to the gross domestic product of the nation. Nevertheless, the advent of COVID-19 has called for change and negatively impacted the prospects of the industry through closure of business operations, loss of sales, and employment instabilities within the tourism industry. Another significant transformation that was revealed during the COVID transformation was the transition in the focus of customer demand from global to local tourism. This shift was caused by limitations in travel across countries as well as increased awareness of health needs, which led consumers to opt for local attractions. At the same time, the organizations that worked in the sphere of tourism started introducing new digital tools to meet the demand and survive during multiple lockdowns. Government actions and measures were also critical to industrialists in terms of reshaping their strategies and getting new rules and funds since clear working directions and financial incentives helped to bring consumers back and open borders for foreign visitors. Interest in health and safety concerns led to the incorporation of strict measures in KSA and the entire region, essential to serving tourist clients. These measures were such as contactless payment, increased cleanliness of transit facilities and vehicles, and physical distancing. And with regional Tourism consumption increasing, there is a move towards historical & culturalized Tourism attractions & destinations. However, the extant literature also reveals some of the certain lemonade outcomes that the COVID-19 pandemic brought to the field of tourism: 1) there were opportunities for the growth of the industry as a whole and for everyone to search for better ways of working. New trends for the development of the tourist industry appeared such as adventure tourism and practicing environmentally friendly policies, as well as the concept of sustainable tourism. However, certain weaknesses of the study need to be highlighted; they were as follows: There were few participants in the study; the study used self-reported measures, which can often bring in some level of bias. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the power and promises of Saudi Arabia tourism through behavioral changes, organizational adaptation and policy-making of the Government. As seen from everyday unfolding events the threat has been significant but the best part is that the industry has the chance to reshape it, reinvent itself and come out even stronger in the post-COVID era. Future research may build on these trends and assess if and how Saudi Arabia's tourism needs to change and adapt for greater sustainability and resilience in the long term.33 0Item Restricted Impact of large-scale events on destination image: A Case study of Riyadh Season(Bournemouth University, 2024-07-10) Aldosari, Bshayer; Turkoglu, HandeThis study investigates the impact of Riyadh Season, a large-scale event in Saudi Arabia, on the destination image of Riyadh. Event tourism, particularly festivals and cultural celebrations, is recognized as a crucial driver for enhancing the appeal of tourism destinations. The research examines how these events transform tourists' perceptions and contribute to the positive branding of a destination. Saudi Arabia, under the Vision 2030 plan, aims to diversify its economy and reduce reliance on oil by promoting tourism. The Riyadh Season, introduced in 2019, features various cultural, entertainment, and sports activities designed to attract both local and international tourists. The research employs a qualitative approach, utilizing semi-structured interviews with international and domestic tourists to gather insights into their experiences and perspectives. The findings indicate a significant enhancement in Riyadh's image, shifting from a functional city to a vibrant cultural and entertainment hub. Tourists reported high levels of satisfaction, attributing their positive experiences to the quality and organization of events, the diversity of activities, and the overall welcoming atmosphere. The study identifies key motivators for attendance, including curiosity about Riyadh's transformation, strong recommendations from peers, and the availability of family-oriented attractions. The likelihood of repeat visits is high, contingent on addressing challenges such as congestion, high costs, and logistical issues. Recommendations for future improvements include better crowd management, affordability measures, and enhanced information dissemination. Overall, Riyadh Season significantly contributes to the city's destination image, supporting the broader objectives of Vision 2030. The study highlights the importance of strategic event planning and promotion in transforming perceptions and fostering tourism growth. Future research should explore the long-term effects of such events on urban development and tourism sustainability.14 0