About

Summary

The primary objective of the Soudah Development Destination Sustainability Strategy was to provide Soudah Development with minimum sustainability criteria for application to the entire tourism sector based on the Global Sustainably Tourism Council’s (GSTC) four criteria: sustainable management, and socio-economic, cultural, and environmental impacts, adhering to the general economic standard-setting code of the ISEAL Alliance.

The Sustainability Strategy sets out to:

• Serve as basic guidelines for Soudah Development to become more sustainable.
• Serve as a basis for future certification for sustainability.
• Help consumers identify Soudah Development as a sustainable tourism destination.
• Serve as a common denominator for information media to recognise Soudah Development and inform the public about its sustainability.
• Offer governmental, non-governmental and private sector programs a starting point for developing sustainable tourism requirements in the Soudah Development area.
• Demonstrate sustainability leadership in the Soudah Development area that inspires others to act.

Our Approach

The Soudah mountain destination was identified as one of the potential tourism development projects as part of the overall Development Strategy and Action Plan prepared in 2019 for Asir Region.  The overall ambition is to develop a unique luxurious multi-purpose tourism destination in the mountainous Soudah area and part of the Rijal Alma Governorate, rich in cultural heritage, and jointly offering a multitude of luxurious tourism products including soft and extreme adventure sports, spa and wellness, cultural heritage experiences, as well as various facilities for meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE).  Prospective visitors will primarily travel from the Middle East, though also international markets such as the United States, Europe and Asia will be targeted, especially in relation to the adventure and extreme sports offerings. 

Our approach to undertaking this work was primarily desk-based due to the timing (COVID-19 restrictions applied) of the project, working closely with the client and other key stakeholders such as GSTC and ISEAL Alliance remotely.

Outcome

The strategy was structured under the four themes: sustainable management, socio-economic impacts, cultural impacts and environmental impacts.  For each of these, it provided proposed monitoring arrangements and an overall strategy action plan.