Local is the new Glocal

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are known for their vast energy resources and comfortable lifestyles in 2022, more than a 100 million travelers passed through Qatar and UAE airports alone. However, this region is also home to a rich cultural and natural heritage that is often overlooked by tourists. To experience the unique sense of place that is found in GCC countries, travel & leisure brands must embrace the concept of locality. This means focusing on local businesses, brands, food, arts, and crafts, as well as promoting local employment, and environmental sustainability. 

If we take a look at the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it’s a destination that has a rich geographic diversity, and is culturally different from many of its neighbors. Despite many people grouping the Middle East or GCC as one set of countries with one culture, the Kingdom features breath-taking Nabataean ruins at AlUla on par with those of Jordan, and a diverse geography from the coasts of the Gulf of Aqaba and The Red Sea in NEOM to mountains that maintain snow for a period in winter at Trojena, to the green hills in the southern province of Asir, all making for a unique destination like nowhere else on earth. 

In the context of sustainability, locality is critical to promoting local businesses and culture. This is how tourism as an industry can be a significant part in driving both the GDP of a destination and plays a key role in creating a focus on local brands over international brands. Holistic sustainability is not just economic, but also looks at the ongoing viability of people and the environment. A key pillar of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, is tourism development, with a mandate for a positive contribution to environmental sustainability, together with local investment and employment, showing the importance of locality in tourism development. 

Tourism is responsible for roughly 8% of all carbon emissions. Construction, transport, lodgings, and F&B all contributing to the impact. By having a focus on local needs and local agendas in tourism, aspects of these negatives can be positively impacted. In KSA, AMAALA is a great example of how the destination will grow produce locally, utilize solar and wind energy, maintain a dark skies policy, and leave the majority of the natural elements, such as the coastline, with marine and on-land flora and fauna as undisturbed as possible in developing the destination. 

Local tourism also supports local economies and promotes economic resilience and prosperity. Restaurants, retail stores, boutiques, local tour operators, and even agricultural businesses all benefit from an increase in tourism in a local area. This means that this increased income becomes an increase in local economic investment. In 2022, Saudi Arabia announced that it is set on investing $1 trillion over the following 10 years in the tourism sector, in support of its aim to attract 100 million tourists each year by 2030. 

Brands must integrate local food, arts, and crafts into their tourism and hospitality offerings in the GCC region. Travelers desire authentic experiences, and the key ingredient to any authentic experience is local people. This is where the genuineness of knowledge and culture provide destination uniqueness, experience uniqueness, and, more importantly, travel with a purposeful outcome. 

One of the biggest challenges in achieving this is ensuring local community engagement when embracing locality in the travel and leisure industry. In new destinations, international brands are often brought in for their experience in operating hospitality assets, their scale brings investment opportunities to an understood business model. However, this model can fail the local macro-economy if tourism does not consider the local community, integrating the local needs, relevant capabilities and culture into the macroeconomic needs of a country's tourism strategy.  

The concept of locality in the GCC region is a pathway to sustainable tourism. By promoting local businesses, culture, entrepreneurship, and environmental sustainability, tourism can drive the GDP of a destination while also supporting economic resilience and prosperity.  

International brands must genuinely prioritize seamless integration with local communities in order to fully embrace and embody the values and traditions of the destination. This is crucial for international brands, if they are to be part of a tourism industry where travelers prioritize authentic experiences over simply branded interactions.