With its rich and ancient heritage, Saudi Arabia is a fascinating tourist destination, which makes the tourist industry in the KSA a rather lucrative business. However, due to the concerns regarding the impact that uncontrolled tourism produced on the environment, principles of sustainability must be introduced into it. The proposal under analysis explores the progress that the KSA, its authorities, and tourist agencies have made so far in contributing to sustainable tourism as a means of balancing between tourism-related business goals and the necessity to protect and conserve the environment. Though the proposal has several minor gaps in it, the overall direction and the content are quite compelling, pointing to the necessity to enhance the principles of sustainability in the KSA context and outlining relevant tools that will produce the most positive effect.
The literature overview of the prerequisites for establishing a sustainable tourism framework in the KSA tourism industry appears to be the key strength of the paper. A review of the core projects associated with tourism, in which the KSA and its organizations have been involved represents an accurate and concise summary of the recent achievements and the issues that need extra attention to be improved. Specifically, analyzing the experience of building 50 hotels and using the Red Sea environment as the key selling point for the KSA economy improvement represents an essential part of the overall argument.
Similarly, the evaluation of the KSA 2030 vision in relation to the state economy and the focus on sustainability as one of the vital goals represents an important advantage of the paper since it introduces the sense of urgency while also summarizing key characteristics of the target environment. In addition, essential factors affecting the current performance of the industry are outlined, allowing one to make forecasts for the future evolution of the industry and the success of sustainability-related endeavors. Namely, the impact of reforms introduced recently into the KSA legal environment appears to have produced a remarkably positive effect on the tourism sector, thus, building the basis for companies to enhance their compliance with the principles of sustainability and sustainable development. Moreover, the financial aspects of the subject matter are discussed briefly, allowing for a better understanding of the means that can be used to achieve increased sustainability rates.
However, there are some minor weaknesses that require proper attention and father improvements. Specifically, the review glances over the key political factors affecting the sustainability levels only briefly, which does not allow for a full understanding of the key constraints and the means of overcoming them. In addition, the strategies for achieving sustainability in tourism need to be considered closer and in greater detail, with the focus on the responsibility of all parties involved. Specifically, the role of tourists in enhancing sustainability rates and forwarding the ideas of environmentalism. Namely, encouraging tourists to be mindful about their impact on ecosystems and their biodiversity should be one of the main priorities. Additionally, tourist agencies should seek opportunities for minimizing the effects that their business has on the environment.
Overall, the review is coherent and concise, with key ideas introduced accurately. Though it could use further expansion to address key sustainable tourism strategies, it still generates enough material on which a framework for sustainable tourism in the KSA can be built. Nonetheless, further research will be required to develop an effective approach to sustainable tourism and ensure that the KSA will lead the way to it.