This as-told-to story is based on a conversation with Kylee Nelson, a 34-year-old travel nurse who's been to over 40 countries and runs the blog Passports and Preemies. She shares what she experienced while living in the Middle East. It's been edited for length and clarity.
Monaco Yacht Clubs in Saudi
05.10.2023 - 13:07 / skift.com / Gloria Guevara / Josh Corder
For a long time, perhaps the only comparison one could draw between Monaco and Gulf capital Saudi Arabia was a lack of personal income tax. Now, Saudi is looking to become a bit more like Monaco when it comes to its lavish yachting industry.
The Kingdom has called upon Monaco Marina Management to help run its space-age yacht club in Amaala – one of the high-end tourism destinations along the Red Sea. The Yacht Club de Monaco company will help create events, a sailing academy, and support with training and recruitment.
The same Monaco Yacht Club signed a deal with Amaala’s regulatory body in August to host events in Saudi.
Saudi Arabia says it wants to lead the way in sustainable travel and tourism, calling for the world to back its Sustainable Tourism Global Center – a “multi-national coalition” for sustainability.
Announced two years ago by the country’s crown prince, the center is under the banner of the Saudi Green Initiative from Mohammed bin Salman to promote environmentalism and green energy.
At a virtual address at the Skift Global Forum 2023 last week, Gloria Guevara, Head of the Sustainable Tourism Global Center and Chief Special Advisor, called upon listeners to trust in the kingdom to help change the industry for the better.
She said: “It is clear that the sustainable agenda is more relevant than ever before.”
“The travel and tourism sector is responsible for 8% of greenhouse emissions, 12% of food waste and in terms of water consumption, travelers consume two to three times more than residents. Overcrowding, waste from travelers and deterioration of quality life for locals due to lack of destination planning.”
“Now, while positive steps are being made to address climate change. We have multiple challenges. We don’t share enough knowledge or best practices with one another. We do not have a good [sustainability] tracking system in place. There is no one place to consolidate and find all solutions and training related to our sector.”
One of the world’s largest exporters of oil, Saudi Arabia continues efforts to change its economy – and its public image – away from pumping crude. The Sustainable Tourism Global Center and Skift Advisory have partnered on the report, “Best Practices for Local Sourcing in Destinations,” which will be coming out later this year.
Today, there is a growing call for destination leaders from DMOs and DMCs, tourism business owners, and governments to take action, assess their supply chains, and identify opportunities to create more locally sourced tourism strategies.
In this soon-to-be-released report, Skift offers guidance on how destination leaders can create a new path to sustainable benefit from tourism, centered on sourcing locally — one that purposefully
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