The team behind the Red Sea Global is coming to a new approach to tourism, called ”regenerative tourism”. More specifically, they are encouraging visitors to enjoy the natural wonders that a destination has to offer and even to play an active role in their preservation.

”We have established several offshore floating nurseries to sustain and grow a small number of rescued corals, achieving an 87-97% success rate across 300 sites. At AMAALA, we are creating the first fully immersive experiential marine life center globally, the Corallium Marine Life Institute. The institute will blend world-class research with a unique visitor experience, allowing AMAALA’s guests to learn about the positive impacts of regenerative tourism”, tells us Ben Edwards, Group Head of Cost, Commercial and Procurement, Red Sea Global.

Red Sea Global (RSG) is a closed joint-stock company wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, established in 2018.

It is a vertically integrated real estate developer with a diverse portfolio across tourism, residential, experiences, infrastructure, transport, healthcare, and services.

Red Sea Global is the developer behind the world's most ambitious regenerative tourism destinations, The Red Sea and AMAALA.

RSG is a cornerstone of Saudi Arabia’s ambition to diversify its economy, part of the Saudi Vision 2030, the national transformation program.

As home to many endemic species, The Red Sea’s variety of islands and coastline offer rare opportunities to enjoy the natural world, together with the highest-quality personalized accommodation and service that will set new standards in luxury travel and position Saudi Arabia on the global tourism map.

The Red Sea is surrounded by the world's fourth-largest barrier reef system and spans over 28,000 square kilometers, with an archipelago of more than 90 untouched islands. Actually, the Red Sea is preserving 75% of the natural archipelago for conservation.

The 22 islands and six inland locations to be developed there by RSG will offer up to 8,000 hotel rooms and 1,300 luxury hotel-branded residences.

The project aims to achieve a 30% net positive conservation benefit by 2040, achieved by enhancing key habitats that help biodiversity to flourish.

”One of the key challenges for the industry is managing over-tourism. Across the world, we have seen images of angry local people protesting the impact of heavy tourism on communities and natural environments. To minimize the risks in Saudi Arabia, The Red Sea and AMAALA destinations have been purposefully designed for 1 million and 500,000 visitors per annum respectively”, continued the Red Sea Global representative.

Read all about the vision to transform tourism into a force for good, engaging tourists also to preserve the ecosystems they are visiting from our in depth interview with Ben Edwards, Group Head of Cost, Commercial and Procurement, Red Sea Global.

What is the mission of Red Sea Global and how can you achieve regenerative tourism?

Red Sea Global is the cornerstone of Saudi Vision 2030, a far-reaching program designed to diversify the Kingdom’s economy and empower current and future generations.

As a multi-asset developer responsible for several ultra-luxury tourism destinations on the Red Sea coastline, we are central to the country’s ambitions to grow the tourism industry, opening the eyes of the world to Saudi Arabia’s remarkable natural beauty and cultural heritage. We also want to pioneer a regenerative tourism model to establish new global standards in the sector.

To achieve this, there must be a focus on restoring and enhancing ecosystems, improving communities, and safeguarding cultural heritage. At Red Sea Global, this has been at the heart of our approach since the inception of our projects and has led us to commit to delivering a 30 percent net conservation benefit across our destinations, The Red Sea and AMAALA, by 2040.

One example of this is our mangrove restoration programs. We have created a dedicated nursery where over 1 million mangroves have been transplanted already, with another 2 million planned for this year, of which 1.6 million have been propagated. Ultimately, we’re aiming to increase mangrove density by 50 million by 2030.

The Red Sea and AMAALA are also powered “off-grid” using solar Farms and battery storage facilities and we target the highest international green building standards and codes.

Alongside this, we are empowering local people. For example, we co-founded a co-operative to enable local farmers to sell their produce directly to our resorts, bringing together more than 3,000 farms in the Tabuk region of Saudi Arabia. We oversee multiple training and graduate programs to nurture future Saudi leaders, such as our Elite Graduate Program, which has provided 254 employment opportunities to date.

This is just a snapshot of what we are doing to ensure our operations are regenerative, bringing tangible benefits to people and the planet.

How would you define the concept of regenerative tourism? How can the tourism sector develop responsibly?

Regenerative tourism goes beyond sustainability. It is about actively restoring and enhancing the environment and communities rather than just protecting them. It can only work when regenerative principles are deeply embedded into the design of tourism destinations.

At The Red Sea destination, which welcomed its first guests last year, we undertook a comprehensive marine spatial planning simulation before any construction was carried out to help inform our master plan.

This allowed us to gauge as accurately as possible the impact of the development on the environment. The findings led us to develop only 22 of the 90-plus islands in the Al Wajh Lagoon, as well as designate nine as special conservation zones to protect the species that live and thrive there.

We have also found partnerships and collaboration to be very important when it comes to responsible development. We work closely with local communities, NGOs and other stakeholders to ensure that our destinations benefit everyone. For example, we recently launched an initiative together with the Tamkeen Association to revive and preserve maritime heritage by restoring sailing ships for local people.

We also recognize the importance of transparency and accountability. Measuring and reporting on environmental and social impacts, and continuous improvement are critical to delivering genuine regeneration.

To hold ourselves accountable, we published our first Environmental Baseline Survey in 2022, against which we have measured our progress towards our conservation benefit goal. This is supplemented by our Annual Sustainability Report, which showcases our achievements in granular detail.

How can tourism be a force for good? Can it be?

Our achievements at RSG demonstrate that tourism can be a force for good. However, achieving this requires an unyielding commitment from developers to drive economic growth and create jobs, fund conservation efforts and protect natural and cultural heritage, promote cross-cultural understanding and provide opportunities for education and development.

One of the key challenges for the industry is managing overtourism. Across the world, we have seen images of angry local people protesting the impact of heavy tourism on communities and natural environments. To minimize the risks in Saudi Arabia, The Red Sea and AMAALA destinations have been purposefully designed for 1 million and 500,000 visitors per annum respectively.

We strongly believe that by embracing a regenerative model, the tourism sector can reposition itself as a force for good, winning the trust of governments, environmental stakeholders and the public.

What should developers and tourists do in order to help protect the fragile marine ecosystems, besides diverting waste from our seas and oceans?

Developers and tourists alike have a vital role to play when it comes to protecting marine ecosystems.

The Red Sea coastline possesses one of the world’s most important coral reef systems. When we first arrived at the destination and witnessed its beauty for the first time, the experience hammered home the importance of protecting the marine environment for future generations. This is why we have established several initiatives to ensure we are restoring aquatic life.

One example is our Coral Commitment - our vow to rescue and regenerate corals in the Red Sea and beyond. As part of this, we have invested in technologies to monitor coral cover, as well as rescuing corals through relocation and testing farming techniques to restore marine ecosystems. We have established several offshore floating nurseries to sustain and grow a small number of rescued corals, achieving an 87-97% success rate across 300 sites.

We also want to encourage travelers to do their part, giving them the opportunity to admire untouched and protected marine environments but also actively contribute to regenerative tourism. For example, we enable our guests to participate in coral restoration efforts and learn about innovative conservation techniques.

At AMAALA, we are creating the first fully immersive experiential marine life center globally, the Corallium Marine Life Institute. This pioneering facility will have 10 zones that provide everything from augmented reality experiences to night diving, as well as dedicated spaces for the scientific community to advance research projects and produce marine science innovation. The institute will blend world-class research with a unique visitor experience, allowing AMAALA’s guests to learn about the positive impacts of regenerative tourism.

Tell us in short about the projects you are currently managing.

We are currently managing three ultra-luxury tourism destinations in Saudi Arabia – The Red Sea, AMAALA and Thuwal Private Retreat.

The Red Sea destination is open and welcoming guests and was the first Vision 2030 giga-project to host paying visitors. We were immensely proud to welcome football legend Cristiano Ronaldo and his family to the St Regis Red Sea Resort, who likened the destination to paradise.

By 2030, when it reaches full completion, The Red Sea will be home to 50 hotels across inland and island sites and will include luxury marinas, golf courses, entertainment and leisure facilities.

Thuwal Private Retreat will open as a hyper-exclusive, buy-out only destination this year, and will be owned and operated directly by Red Sea Global. Looking ahead, AMAALA, an integrated wellness haven, will open its doors in 2025, with eight resorts opening alongside the Corallium Marine Life Institute and the AMAALA Yacht Club.

Once complete in 2030, AMAALA will be home to around 4,000 hotel rooms across 30 resorts. It will include over 1,200 luxury residential villas, apartments and branded residences, along with high-end retail establishments, fine dining, wellness and recreational facilities.

These destinations will be served by our Red Sea International airport, which welcomes a regular schedule of domestic and international flights and is on track to become one of the first carbon-neutral airports in the Middle East.

Can a tourism hotspot run solely on renewable energy? What are the challenges? How did you overcome them in the projects/plan to overcome them (also in the Saudi Vision 2030)?

We are here to prove that it can. From the very start, we were clear on our vision to power our flagship destinations, The Red Sea and AMAALA, with clean energy.

At The Red Sea, 760,500 photovoltaic panels are already installed at our Phase One solar farms, with three of our resorts having dedicated microgrids. This is all supported by one of the world’s largest off-grid battery storage facilities, capable of storing 1,200 MWh of energy.

Powered by sunlight, 24/7, this clean energy network is powering everything from The Red Sea’s 5G network to the electric vehicles offering our guests seamless, comfortable transportation. AMAALA is on track to be powered in the same way.

What will be the outcome of running solely on renewable energy, the mission?

Overall, the solar infrastructure is expected to generate up to 1.1 million gross MWh per year of solar energy to supply resorts, attractions, and other utility systems. At full production capacity, the solar farms will avoid up to 620,000 tCO2eq per year.

The decision to use clean energy reflects our commitment to deliver tourism in a more responsible, sustainable way. We believe these achievements can help transform perceptions of tourism as a positive force on the environment here in the Kingdom and beyond.

Tell us a bit about the purpose of Red Sea Global in the Saudi Vision 2030.

We are playing a pivotal role in advancing Saudi Vision 2030 by spearheading the development of a thriving tourism industry.

As Saudi Arabia sets its sights on economic diversification, tourism is emerging as a key pillar and is projected to contribute 10% to the national GDP and generate a million new jobs by 2030.

We are at the forefront of this transformation, creating unique destinations like The Red Sea and AMAALA which not only attract international tourists, but showcase the Kingdom’s commitment to responsible development, spanning environmental protection, community empowerment and celebration of the country’s rich cultural heritage.

What are some investment and operation opportunities that you see for Romanian companies?

Romania is a competitive, dynamic economy and represents an untapped opportunity for us. We are very keen to hear from local businesses which share our ambition to deliver world-class experiences and infrastructure, but to do so in an entirely sustainable way.

Our destination portfolio brings a range of exciting investment opportunities, spanning the development of future projects through to the operation of live destinations, such as The Red Sea, covering security, catering, air services, transportation and many more areas.

What kind of partners are you looking for? How important is it for you and the entire government of Saudi Arabia to work with partners that have the same goals regarding a durable future and transformation?

We know that we cannot achieve our regenerative ambitions alone. We have been fortunate enough to work alongside a growing number of partners, who have brought not only unrivaled technical expertise, but the passion and commitment needed to support our mission to uplift the environment and communities.

We have worked with a range of high-profile organizations, such as King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), ACWA Power and The Ocean Race on many projects since the preliminary stages of our developments. We are looking forward to forging more innovative partnerships, particularly in new and emerging markets.