Saudi Arabia highlights global humanitarian efforts at G20 Parliamentary Summit in Brazil

RIYADH: Sustainable tourism has become a key measure of Saudi Arabia’s transformation, as the Kingdom seeks to balance economic growth with cultural preservation and environmental sustainability.

Speaking to Arab News, a media partner at Athar Festival, Abdulrahman Al-Jefri, destination and live assets executive director at Diriyah Co., said global definitions of sustainability are changing.

“The world is shifting into a new definition for sustainability, where today we have very specific technologies called sustainable tourism,” he said.

“Sustainable tourism is not just preserving the world for the younger generation, the next generation, it’s actually recreating the asset that has been loose, lost or consumed.”

Al-Jefri said tourism has one of the highest environmental impacts due to its carbon footprint and waste across the value chain.

He added that Diriyah’s approach emphasizes walkability, traditional design and landscape protection to reduce that impact.

“We are mandated to preserve the greenery that we have had for 2,000 years in Wadi Hanifa,” he said. “Today, we’re preserving all trees and actually planting more than 1 million trees in our destination. And the architecture methodology, which is mud brick, is a breathable material and low-rise. It’s also a promoter for these kind of sustainable tools.”

Al-Jefri said the Kingdom’s growing tourism sector is also creating new opportunities for young Saudis, and expanding destinations beyond religious tourism.

He added that the tourism sector is now a key pillar of the national plan to diversify income sources.

During a panel titled “Beyond Moments: Transforming Tourism Experiences into Legacies in the Middle East,” Melanie De Souza, destination marketing executive director at the Royal Commission for AlUla, said travel expectations are shifting globally.

She added that people are looking for meaning and “deep cultural immersion and connection.

“I think, increasingly, the customer of today is making decisions based on their own values,” she added. “What is really resonating with customers is this very serious responsibility we feel, to protect and preserve the heritage we have inherited, to really restore our landscapes and breathe wild with the ultimate hope.”

Wadha Al-Nafjan, senior visitor services manager at the King Salman Park Foundation, said visitor experiences should move beyond services to foster emotional connection.

“(It can be done) by designing emotional connection to a place through active participation,” she said.

She added that destinations must continuously evolve to keep visitors engaged and that lasting value in tourism comes from how projects improve people’s lives.

“Moments create attention but I think legacies are built when you design with the intention of improving people’s lives,” Al-Nafjan said.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s anti-corruption authority has arrested government employees taking bribes in exchange for awarding contracts, overlooking violations and issuing licenses, among other offenses, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday evening.  

An employee working at the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources was arrested for receiving SR1.6 million ($433,285) in exchange for unlawfully issuing a quarry license for a company owned by a resident foreign investor, who was also arrested.

A Saudi citizen was arrested for receiving SR85,000 in exchange for canceling a demolition order issued against a plot of agricultural land that had no ownership deed.

Two more employees working at the municipality of the same region were also detained for receiving sums of money in exchange for halting demolition orders.

Another employee working at a local municipality, which was not identified, was arrested for receiving SR195,000 in exchange for unlawfully awarding a tender to an unnamed commercial entity.

In another case, the director of a desalination plant was suspended for receiving SR35,000 from a commercial entity contracted with the plant in exchange for not recording violations committed by that entity.

A municipality employee received a sum of SR30,000 out of an agreed total of SR240,000 in exchange for facilitating the unlawful disbursement of SR8,303,000 in financial dues to a commercial entity, for which they were arrested.

A non-commissioned officer working at the General Directorate of Civil Defense received SR10,430 in exchange for unlawfully issuing a permit to a commercial establishment, and was suspended.

An employee working at a government hospital was suspended for embezzling SR12,000 belonging to a catering company contracted to provide meals for the hospital.

One non-commissioned officer working at the Ministry of Defense was suspended for receiving sums of money from female citizens in exchange for promising to employ them at the ministry.

An employee at one of the Kingdom’s regional emirates was suspended after receiving a sum of money in exchange for facilitating the procedures of a marriage transaction for a resident.

Nazaha also announced the arrest of an employee working at a regional enforcement court for receiving a sum of money in exchange for removing a citizen’s name from the service suspension list.

An employee of the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority was suspended for misappropriating several items that had been confiscated by customs at his work location.

A municipality employee was arrested for accepting airline tickets for himself and his family from a resident working for a company contracted with the municipality (who was also arrested), in return for expediting payment processes.

A municipality market inspector was suspended for conducting inspections at a commercial establishment and illegally taking SR7,500 along with various tobacco products without any legal authority to do so.

A Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development employee was suspended for receiving payment from a business in exchange for not issuing a regulatory violation against it.

A resident working at a health complex affiliated with the Ministry of Health was arrested for receiving payment for promising to issue a health care practice license without the test being taken.

A Ministry of Hajj and Umrah employee was arrested for accepting payment to refrain from canceling a hotel’s operating permit.

Nazaha also arrested a Saudi Electricity Company employee for receiving payment to illegally connect electrical service to a site.

The authority’s spokesperson emphasized its commitment to detecting and apprehending anyone who misappropriates public funds or abuses their position for personal benefit or to harm the public interest.

Such individuals will be held accountable even after their employment has ended, as financial and administrative corruption offenses have no statute of limitations.