Saudi Arabia’s High Tourism Hopes Begin With a Botched Campaign Rollout
Photo Credit: Saudi Arabia rolled out its tourism campaign on social media. In real life, though, things were confusing. Flickr / Stephen Downes
Skift Take
Saudi Arabia certainly put a lot of thought and money into its latest promotional pitch ahead of a rumored e-visa scheme. But it takes more than drone shots to kick off a successful tourism marketing strategy — clarity in message matters too.
As tourism marketing content goes, it was the glossy kind: On Sept. 14, Saudi Arabia began circulating a slick, drone-footage filled video entitled "Where in the World" on social media and on a dedicated webpage.
Sometime earlier in September, it also began tweeting from several region-specific Twitter accounts — including those aimed at American, Japanese, British, and Chinese followers — many of which directed to an Instagram account with the same name and branding.
https://twitter.com/Visit_Saudi/status/1172944199127371778
Media reports surrounding the Where In the World campaign said the Kingdom was ramping up to announce its tourism e-visa available to 50 countries, to be launched in a glitzy VIP ceremony on Sept. 27. Historically, visas to travel to Saudi Arabia have been issued only to those traveling for religious purposes, but now Saudi Arabia is keen to ramp up its tourism industry. The effort is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 to diversi
