From the heart of Arabia
Unveiling the warmest of welcomes to drive unprecedented growth in tourism

Building ‘the most exciting new tourist destination in the world’

In 2016, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia launched its Vision 2030 – a transformative and ambitious blueprint to unlock the potential of its people and create a diversified, innovative, and world-leading nation.

As one of the Vision’s three key themes, the country is looking to build a thriving, more diverse and innovative economy. This means reducing the country’s reliance on the oil industry and turning its attentions to those such as renewable energy, entertainment and tourism.

Our original brand identity for the newly formed Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) in 2019 had served them well, but the STA wanted to evolve its brand to bring improved coherence while driving better engagement across a broader cross-section of global audiences, as well as its domestic tourism market.

The ultimate goal? Increase visitation and make Saudi, the most exciting new tourist destination in the world.

Uncovering centuries of tradition and heritage

Research from our International Brand Health Tracker provided valuable insights into the brand’s overall performance. We mapped key reasons for travelling to and within Saudi Arabia, such as business, leisure or religious reasons against key audience segments of international, regional and domestic.

While we needed to find common themes and motivations on which to build our renewed brand house – to provide the coherent strategic framework needed for fostering a strong reputation and delivering tangible value – it was clear that every visitor is unique. Every individual’s journey to choosing Saudi as a destination varies based on who they are, where they come from, and what they seek. Whether it’s adventurous explorers from Europe, discerning luxury seekers from China, or devout Muslims making the pilgrimage to Mecca, our brand had to adapt to serve as the ideal travel companion for all.

For us, this meant uncovering Saudi Arabia’s centuries of tradition and heritage. Evolving the brand meant revealing the unknown, mystical side of Arabia and highlighting the vibrancy, national pride and spirit of modern Islam as a reflection of its Vision 2030.

The Heart of Arabia

While many countries in the Middle East talk of Arabia, Saudi IS Arabia – it’s the heart and soul of Arabia. The revitalised brand brings this upfront and centre.

Saudi Arabia is more than a destination; it’s a heartfelt journey through rich history, breathtaking landscapes, and vibrant culture, where every visitor is embraced with warmth, generosity, and a deep sense of connection that creates lasting memories and new relationships. When you explore the heart of Arabia, you welcome it into yours.

The traditional Saudi welcome has been a unique and integral part of the Arabian culture for millennia and is witnessed in the Saudi’s daily practices, poems, and stories that they tell their visitors to celebrate them. It means generous, welcoming and caring, and for the Saudi brand is personified as a gracious hostess. Her hospitality, deeply intertwined with the country’s culture and spirit, extends every welcome as a heartfelt connection, making every interaction feel like a return home.

It’s this inviting hospitality combined with immersive experiences, iconic places and unexpected stories that bring the brand to life.

A contemporary twist on the classical
The brand identity is meticulously crafted and seamlessly blends the intricate traditions of Saudi design with contemporary aesthetics, expressed in Arabic and Latin.

The elegance of classical Thuluth calligraphy inspired a suite of bespoke typefaces developed in conjunction with leading type foundry F37. ‘Saudi Serif’ and ‘Saudi Sans’ feature extensive Arabic and Latin character sets and are truly global in every sense, ensuring the typefaces work clearly and effectively across more than 100 language systems worldwide.

An authentic, vibrant and natural colour palette
The brand’s primary colour palette is inspired by the roses of Taif, which turn pockets of the Kingdom’s vast desert landscape a vivid and fragrant purpley pink.

The secondary colours are also taken from aspects of everyday Saudi life and enable a wide selection of imagery to be used within communications.

A land rich in pattern, texture and colour
The Kingdom has a long heritage of craft, art and design. The brand’s dynamic visual language system reflects the rich, authentic multilayered experience of Saudi culture, from traditional and cutting-edge architectural details to the Thuluth calligraphy. The patterns are the most authentic and unique expression of the brand and cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

Photography to capture moments and emotions
Whether it’s friends immersing themselves in the vibrant streets of Riyadh or the breathtaking spectacle of a sunset atop the Soudah mountains; the guiding principle of ‘moments and emotions’ works across all photography. It should capture a moment in an ongoing scene and feel like a small slice of a larger narrative – to awaken curiosity in the viewer and compel them to explore the untold and unexpected stories hidden within each frame.

Comprehensive guidelines for brand coherence
Nine guideline documents cover everything from the visual language system and photography to brand endorsements and trade. These ensure flexible consistency is met across the whole communications eco-system.
A comprehensive suite of guidelines outlines how they can be used to create truly distinct and ownable communications, along with bespoke iconography and pictograms.

The Middle East’s premier tourist destination

The evolved brand identity fully embraces the warmth, welcoming nature and generosity from the heart of Arabia, and it positions the Kingdom as the Middle East’s premier and most authentic tourist destination.

The brand achieves the perfect equilibrium between coherence and flexibility, and authenticity and modernity, honouring Saudi’s rich heritage while embracing the possibilities of the future in line with its Vision 2030.

And it’s clearly engaging key audiences.

Fastest growing tourism destination
Saudi tourism has had a year of unprecedented growth. The Kingdom is the fastest-growing tourism destination in the G20 after jumping 15 places in the UN Tourism destination ranking for international receipts – the largest upward movement in the Top 50.

In the first half of 2024, Saudi Arabia welcomed 1.3 million visitors from Europe and the Americas, a 37% increase from the same period last year. And Saudi’s air connectivity is growing twice as much as the rest of the world, with a 27% increase from Europe and the Americas since 2023 and 60 flights a week from the UK to Saudi – indicative of the rapid growth and ambitious goals of Saudi’s tourism sector.

Sustainable future growth
Indeed, at the World Travel Market London 2024 in November, STA harnessed rising interest from the global travel trade, signing more than 11 Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) for pivotal partnerships with Expedia, Trip Advisor, eDreams, Wego, TBO and Dida Travel. These partnerships are set to boost Saudi’s tourism sector, propelling it towards unprecedented sustainable growth and further solidifying the Saudi’s place as a leading global tourism destination.