Future Challenges of Major Tourism Projects in Saudi Arabia: A Prospective Study on Environmental Sustainability

Abstract

This research critically examines Saudi Arabia's largest tourism projects—NEOM, The Red Sea Project, Qiddiya, and Riyadh—under the lens of environmental sustainability, and focuses on their place within the Kingdom's Vision 2030. These massive projects, in spite of their ecological claims, causes serious threats to delicate marine and desert ecosystems. The research reveals a disconnection between the projects' ambitious rhetoric of sustainability and their real-world environmental consequences, and alarms both environmental management and government control. This study employs qualitative case study method, and invokes the Triple Bottom Line, Resilience Theory, and Stakeholder Theory, based on eight in-depth interviews as well as extensive examination of government policies, academic scholarship, and media articles. It evidences widespread gaps in sustainability, such as deteriorated water scarcity, loss of biological diversity, increased energy needs, and deceptive marketing that falsely overhypes environmental success. The study points to a lack of responsibility in the projects, with some initiatives such as quantifiable environmental goals, while others are based heavily on promotional hype. The views among stakeholders differ, with some being cautiously optimistic about new technology while others are seriously worried about the long-term environmental impacts. The study calls for a shift in paradigm—one where real ecological protection is coupled with economic development to ensure that such projects deliver sustainability.