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Saudi Arabia launches Digital Tourism strategy as part of Vision 2030

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Tourism Ahmed bin Aqeel Al Khateeb has announced a three-year Digital Tourism Strategy, as the next step in the Kingdom’s continued reform of the sector.

The Ministry of Tourism is pioneering nine innovative programs consisting of 31 core initiatives by 2025 – positively impacting residents, visitors, investors and the public and private sectors. These programs will accelerate the kingdom’s National Tourism Strategy and Vision 2030 targets, including 100 million new visits and tourism’s 10 percent GDP contribution.

Al Khateeb said: “The Digital Tourism Strategy will help us to redesign tourism in the Kingdom and achieve our ambitious Vision 2030 objectives of making Saudi Arabia a world-leading tourist destination. The Kingdom’s execution of this strategy over the next three years will inspire the tourism sector globally.”

Application of the Strategy aims to provide tourists and stakeholders with a more seamless experience, that enables a thriving tourism sector. The strategy focuses on a number of areas:

-Seamless Travel: Providing digital solutions to simplify travel procedures -Ease of Doing Business: Launching a unified platform to connect tourism service providers and applications -Innovation: Creating an experimental environment that will allow technology innovators to test new digital tourism solutions -Digital Travel: Supporting tourism related extended reality applications (e.g. virtual or augmented reality) -Encouraging Sustainability: Rewarding tourists for eco-friendly behaviours -Informed Decision Making: Building solutions that gather data and provide analytics for the tourism sector -Skilled Digital Workforce: Creating a generation of tourism professionals and entrepreneurs -Investor Attraction: Establish & engage a network of tourism investors through digital platforms

To achieve this, the strategy will deliver programs that promote a Kingdom-wide culture of innovation and future-proof regulations. It will boost workforce skills to strengthen the labour market and attract global innovators by providing a safe and supportive environment to explore and experiment their work. A dedicated program will target upskilling and reskilling the tourism workforce to increase Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector employability rate and enable the next generation of entrepreneurs, he said.

The Ministry of Tourism will also pioneer new digital business models to increase market demand for service providers. The new models will include disruptive regulations for smart hotels and streamlined methods of digital travel, creating a frictionless seamless travel experience for tourists, businesses, and governments.

A smart ecosystem will be developed to support and enable the sector’s digital transformation, particularly for stakeholders. This will feature an interconnected, inclusive platform to answer the needs of Ministry of Tourism stakeholders, with customer centricity at the heart of its services. By adopting new technologies, the Ministry will enable informed decision-making, maximising the value of data and creating opportunities to matchmake investors.

The strategy will also encourage the creation of new service offerings and start-ups by establishing a tourism marketplace. The marketplace will leverage AI and data to attract investors, accelerate destination readiness and showcase investment opportunities.

Above all, the strategy will initiate ministry-wide programs to create an agile and resilient organization that supports the sector’s digital transformation and fosters a culture of innovation. In line with this, the Ministry of Tourism will lead the development of a Global Digital Tourism Index to drive competitiveness within the global sector.

Al Khateeb added: “We must embrace the opportunities that the digital era presents us. We are welcoming the most innovative, disruptive minds in the world, to create better digital tourism regulations. We want travelers and investors to have certainty that smart regulations are being adopted across the sector.

“Saudi Arabia will continue to pioneer and lead these efforts at a national and global scale, ultimately creating more jobs, more prosperity and bringing more visitors into the Kingdom.”

The strategy was built in consultation with Digital Government Authority, the National Digital Transformation Unit, and a Global Advisory Board of 22 subject matter experts in digital transformation and tourism.

Throughout the strategy’s development, the Ministry aligned with entities across the tourism ecosystem, including the Saudi Tourism Authority and the Tourism Development Fund. The strategy has been endorsed by the UNWTO, World Bank and digital partners such as Microsoft and CISCO.

This announcement builds on the Ministry’s strong track record of achievements. Last year, the Ministry of Tourism launched an effort to attract 100,000 Saudis into the sector through the Your Future in Tourism programme. In addition, the Ministry is working with the UN World Tourism Organization to establish a Tourism Academy to train young people entering the sector workforce. The Ministry of Tourism has also developed a series of 31 new standards to enhance the quality of the Kingdom’s tourism training.

Additionally, the Ministry’s tourism training and education e-portal was activated earlier this year, with registrations exceeding 226,000. The platform has assisted with the training and upskilling of more than 110,000 employees and jobseekers so far. The Saudi tourism ecosystem has also expanded its global presence and recognition, winning 28 global awards, and the Saudi Tourism Authority has also established 12 international offices across seven key markets, the ministry said.

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What’s in store as Saudi Arabia unveils three-year digital tourism strategy

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Tourism Ahmed bin Aqeel Al Khateeb has announced a three-year Digital Tourism Strategy, as the next step in the Kingdom’s continued reform of the sector.  The announcement was made at LEAP, Saudi’s largest-ever tech event held in Riyadh.

The Ministry of Tourism is pioneering nine innovative programmes consisting of 31 core initiatives by 2025 – positively impacting residents, visitors, investors and the public and private sectors. These programmes will accelerate the kingdom’s National Tourism Strategy and Vision 2030 targets, including 100 million new visits and tourism’s 10 percent GDP contribution.

Al Khateeb said: “The Digital Tourism Strategy will help us to redesign tourism in the Kingdom and achieve our ambitious Vision 2030 objectives of making Saudi Arabia a world-leading tourist destination. The Kingdom’s execution of this strategy over the next three years will inspire the tourism sector globally.”

Application of the strategy aims to provide tourists and stakeholders with a more seamless experience, that enables a thriving tourism sector. The strategy focuses on a number of areas:

• Seamless Travel: Providing digital solutions to simplify travel procedures
• Ease of Doing Business: Launching a unified platform to connect tourism service providers and applications
• Innovation: Creating an experimental environment that will allow technology innovators to test new digital tourism solutions
• Digital Travel: Supporting tourism related extended reality applications (e.g. virtual or augmented reality)
• Encouraging Sustainability: Rewarding tourists for eco-friendly behaviours
• Informed Decision Making: Building solutions that gather data and provide analytics for the tourism sector
• Skilled Digital Workforce: Creating a generation of tourism professionals and entrepreneurs
• Investor Attraction: Establish & engage a network of tourism investors through digital platforms

To achieve this, the strategy will deliver programmes that promote a Kingdom-wide culture of innovation and future-proof regulations. It will boost workforce skills to strengthen the labour market and attract global innovators by providing a safe and supportive environment to explore and experiment their work. A dedicated programme will target upskilling and reskilling the tourism workforce to increase Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector employability rate and enable the next generation of entrepreneurs, he said.

The Ministry of Tourism will also pioneer new digital business models to increase market demand for service providers. The new models will include disruptive regulations for smart hotels and streamlined methods of digital travel, creating a frictionless seamless travel experience for tourists, businesses, and governments.

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Saudi Arabia launches new strategy to reform tourism sector

Posted by Claudia De Brito on 3 February 2022

The innovative Digital Tourism Strategy was announced at LEAP, a technology-focused event in Riyadh 

Saudi Arabia has revealed that it plans to implement a three-year Digital Tourism Strategy that aims to reform the sector and meet its Vision 2030 targets.

As part of the initiative, the Ministry of Tourism will launch nine programmes by 2025 that aim to positively impact residents, visitors, investors and the public and private sectors.

Targets include reaching  100 million new visits and the tourism sector’s 10% contribution to the national GDP

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Tourism Ahmed bin Aqeel Al Khateeb has Al Khateeb said: “The Digital Tourism Strategy will help us to redesign tourism in the Kingdom and achieve our ambitious Vision 2030 objectives of making Saudi Arabia a world-leading tourist destination. The Kingdom’s execution of this strategy over the next three years will inspire the tourism sector globally.”

Application of the strategy aims to provide tourists and stakeholders with a more seamless experience and will focus on areas including:

• Seamless travel: Providing digital solutions to simplify travel procedures
• Ease of doing business: Launching a unified platform to connect tourism service providers and applications
• Innovation: Creating an experimental environment that will allow technology innovators to test new digital tourism solutions
• Digital travel: Supporting tourism-related extended (virtual or augmented) reality applications 
• Encouraging sustainability: Rewarding tourists for eco-friendly behaviours
• Informed decision making: Building solutions that gather data and provide analytics for the tourism sector
• Skilled digital workforce: Creating a generation of tourism professionals and entrepreneurs
• Investor attraction: Establishing and engaging a network of tourism investors through digital platforms

Al Khateeb added: “We must embrace the opportunities that the digital era presents us. We are welcoming the most innovative, disruptive minds in the world to create better digital tourism regulations.

“We want travellers and investors to have certainty that smart regulations are being adopted across the sector. Saudi Arabia will continue to pioneer and lead these efforts at a national and global scale, ultimately creating more jobs, more prosperity and bringing more visitors into the Kingdom.”

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In order to develop the initiative, the Ministry aligned with entities across the tourism ecosystem, including the Saudi Tourism Authority and the Tourism Development Fund. The strategy has been endorsed by the UNWTO, the World Bank and digital partners, such as Microsoft and CISCO.

The Ministry of Tourism is working with the UN World Tourism Organisation to establish a Tourism Academy to train young people who wish to enter the sector

The Ministry has also developed a series of 31 new standards to enhance the quality of the kingdom’s tourism training.

 For more information, visit www.mt.gov.sa/en 

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Saudi ministry of tourism digital tourism strategy set to accelerate sector, jobs and innovation

February 2, 2022

His Excellency Ahmed Al Khateeb, Minister of Tourism of Saudi Arabia said: “The Digital Tourism Strategy will help us to redesign tourism in the Kingdom and achieve our ambitious Vision 2030 objectives of having Saudi Arabia become a world-leading tourist destination. The Kingdom’s execution of this strategy over the next three years will inspire the tourism sector globally.”

The Digital Tourism Strategy aims to position the Kingdom as the global digital tourism leader. Application of the Strategy aims to provide tourists and stakeholders with a more seamless experience that enables a thriving tourism sector. The strategy focuses on a number of areas:

• Seamless Travel: Providing digital solutions to simplify travel procedures
• Ease of Doing Business: Launching a unified platform to connect tourism service providers and applications
• Innovation: Creating an experimental environment that will allow technology innovators to test new digital tourism solutions
• Digital Travel: Supporting tourism extended reality applications (e.g. virtual or augmented reality)
• Encouraging Sustainability: Rewarding tourists for eco-friendly behaviors
• Informed Decision Making: Building solutions that gather data and provide analytics for the tourism sector
• Skilled Digital Workforce: Creating a generation of tourism professionals and entrepreneurs
• Investor Attraction: Establish & engage a network of tourism investors through digital platforms

To achieve this, the strategy will deliver programs that promote a Kingdom-wide culture of innovation and future-proof regulations. It will boost workforce skills to strengthen the labor market and attract global innovators by providing a safe and supportive environment to explore and experiment their work. A dedicated program will target upskilling and reskilling the tourism workforce to increase Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector employability rate and enable the next generation of entrepreneurs.

The Ministry of Tourism will also pioneer new digital business models to increase market demand for service providers. The new models will include disruptive regulations for smart hotels and streamlined methods of digital travel, creating a frictionless seamless travel experience for tourists, businesses, and governments.

A smart ecosystem will be developed to support and enable the sector’s digital transformation, particularly for stakeholders. This will feature an interconnected, inclusive platform to answer the needs of Ministry of Tourism stakeholders, with customer centricity at the heart of its services. By adopting new technologies, the Ministry will enable informed decision-making, maximizing the value of data and creating opportunities to matchmake investors.

The strategy will also encourage the creation of new service offerings and start-ups by establishing a tourism marketplace. The marketplace will leverage AI and data to attract investors, accelerate destination readiness and showcase investment opportunities. Above all, the strategy will initiate Ministry-wide programs to create an agile and resilient organization that supports the sector’s digital transformation and fosters a culture of innovation. In line with this, the Ministry of Tourism will lead the development of a Global Digital Tourism Index to drive competitiveness within the global sector.

His Excellency Ahmed Al Khateeb continued: “We must embrace the opportunities that the digital era presents us. We are welcoming the most innovative, disruptive minds in the world, to create better digital tourism regulations. We want travelers and investors to have certainty that smart regulations are being adopted across the sector. Saudi Arabia will continue to pioneer and lead these efforts at a national and global scale, ultimately creating more jobs, more prosperity and bringing more visitors into the Kingdom.”

The strategy was built in consultation with Digital Government Authority, the National Digital Transformation Unit, and a Global Advisory Board of 22 subject matter experts in digital transformation and tourism. Throughout the strategy’s development, the Ministry aligned with entities across the tourism ecosystem, including the Saudi Tourism Authority and the Tourism Development Fund. The strategy has been endorsed by the UNWTO, World Bank and digital partners such as Microsoft and CISCO.

This announcement builds on the Ministry’s strong track record of achievements. Last year, the Ministry of Tourism launched an effort to attract 100,000 Saudis into the sector through the Your Future in Tourism program. In addition, the Ministry is working with the UN World Tourism Organization to establish a Tourism Academy to train young people entering the sector workforce. The Ministry of Tourism has also developed a series of 31 new standards to enhance the quality of the Kingdom’s tourism training.

Additionally, the Ministry’s tourism training and education e-portal was activated earlier this year, with registrations exceeding 226,000. The platform has assisted with the training and upskilling of more than 110,000 employees and jobseekers so far. The Saudi tourism ecosystem has also expanded its global presence and recognition, winning 28 global awards, and the Saudi Tourism Authority has also established 12 international offices across 7 key markets.

Related Articles

June 7, 2024

Almosafer’s CEO on Navigating the Future of Saudi Tourism

Almosafer + Skift

March 25th, 2024 at 1:19 PM EDT

In rewriting its tourism narrative, Saudi Arabia’s shift towards broader offerings, digital integration, and infrastructure improvements signals a forward-looking approach aimed at tapping into new growth avenues within the global travel industry.

This sponsored content was created in collaboration with a Skift partner.

Behind every successful travel destination is a story of adaptation and foresight. For Saudi Arabia, it’s about embracing change and rewriting the narrative. With the country hitting its tourism target of 100 million visitors seven years early , the sector is poised for unprecedented innovation and growth. Travel companies in the region now face the challenge of recalibrating to keep pace with emerging trends and new market realities.

SkiftX spoke with Muzzammil Ahussain, CEO of Almosafer, to gain insights into the evolving dynamics shaping the future of Saudi Arabia’s tourism landscape and the key forces and opportunities propelling the sector forward.

SkiftX: How has the way people plan and experience travel changed in Saudi Arabia in recent years?

Muzzammil Ahussain: Saudi travelers continue to explore destinations, with travel demand surpassing pre-pandemic levels. More people are eyeing luxury getaways and experiential tourism across the wider GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), Europe, and Asia, with trending destinations, including Turkey and Thailand, fueled by easy visa accessibility. 

Domestic tourism accounts for over 40 percent of our consumer booking volume, which indicates that the country’s efforts to promote local tourism are effective. While religious tourism and key cities still play a major role in domestic bookings, new leisure destinations such as Abha and Taif, as well as luxury getaways like AlUla and the Red Sea, have seen a growth in demand.

Saudi travelers spent more on longer trips in 2023, with both average trip length and spending rising compared to pre-pandemic levels. There’s been a shift towards more luxurious and meaningful experiences post-Covid. Meanwhile, low-cost carrier bookings have increased, showing that travelers prefer economical flights while allocating more for in-destination expenses.

SkiftX: What major opportunities do you foresee for new technologies to drive growth and innovation within the region’s tourism industry?

Ahussain: Technological innovations have revolutionized customers’ travel experiences in the region, with digital platforms becoming the go-to for complete travel planning. 

B2B portals and distribution platforms are also driving industry growth, while white-label solutions allow partners to adopt advanced technology without heavy IT investments. This promotes a more inclusive tourism ecosystem and stimulates growth across all levels of the industry.

The future of tourism relies on continuous digital innovation, including AI for personalized recommendations, VR for virtual tours, and blockchain for secure transactions. Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as a leading digital tourism hub in line with Vision 2030 by staying at the forefront of these technological advancements. Almosafer will remain a key driving force behind digital developments in the sector.

SkiftX: As corporate and government travel requirements evolve, what are some new solutions Almosafer is introducing to redefine travel management, and how are they improving operational efficiency?

Ahussain: Almosafer Business, our corporate and government clients division in the Kingdom, provides customized travel management services by integrating Almosafer technology, travel advisory, and expertise across our 40-plus years of local market experience. We serve over 140 leading corporate and government entities as a one-stop shop for end-to-end travel management services. Our digitized system provides a flawless experience, making every step trackable, leading to improved efficiency.

We’ve also recently partnered with American Express Saudi Arabia to enable our corporate clients to centralize payments through its Corporate Travel Account (CTA). This consolidates and enhances corporate travel spending visibility, providing clients with an optimized, personalized business travel management solution.

SkiftX: What key destination development strategies are making the underexplored areas of Saudi Arabia more accessible to international tourists?

Ahussain: Saudi Arabia is making significant investments in infrastructure, new airports, increased flight frequencies, additional routes, the establishment of ground transportation facilities, and a richer array of “things to do,” making it easier for global hospitality brands to expand into underexplored areas, driven by growing interest from domestic and international tourists.

Destination management companies (DMCs) also play a big role in providing on-ground services. They increase awareness of local offerings in collaboration with regional destination management offices (DMOs). Enhanced connectivity and global marketing are bringing previously unexplored territories to the forefront, and our DMC, Discover Saudi, is well-placed to serve the influx of travelers from around the world.

Almosafer’s recent partnership with the upcoming Riyadh Air, investments in alternative accommodation, and ongoing collaborations with the Saudi Tourism Authority and key ecosystem players are all contributing to a seamless experience for international tourists looking for authentic immersion in the Kingdom.

SkiftX: How is Saudi Arabia planning to improve its religious tourism infrastructure?

Ahussain: Religious tourism is the largest economic contributor to the country’s tourism sector. The two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah are popular destinations throughout the year, as per Almosafer’s consumer and inbound tourism data. The Saudi government aims to increase the number of pilgrims to over 30 million by 2030 and is investing in infrastructure to improve the mosques, hotels, transportation, and tourist services in Makkah and Madinah.

Several projects are underway to accommodate increasing visitor numbers, including the Holy Mosque’s expansion and urban development projects like Rua Al-Madinah, a large mixed-use real estate development near the Prophet’s Mosque, and the Masar development giga-project in Makkah.

Recent reforms in Saudi Arabia now allow visitors to perform Umrah with any visa and have simplified visa policies, with residents of the GCC being able to obtain a visa on arrival.

SkiftX: What role does Almosafer play in streamlining the Hajj and Umrah experience?

Ahussain: Mawasim, Almosafer’s dedicated Hajj and Umrah tour operator, provides B2B partners worldwide with a portal to create seamless pilgrimage experiences. Religious tourism is critical to our growth and will be strengthened in 2024 by integrating with the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah’s official booking portal, Nusuk. This will expand our Umrah package offerings globally. 

Mawasim is also among the few companies licensed by the Ministry to provide Hajj-related services in select destinations via its B2C platform, Nusuk Hajj, with plans to serve 10,000 Hajj pilgrims annually, including new markets.

Almosafer has also recently been named the official flight partner for the direct Hajj program through Nusuk Hajj. This partnership will improve the Hajj experience for pilgrims from Europe, the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, and select Asian and African countries, with reliable travel options and a range of additional services from the Nusk Hajj platform.

SkiftX: What trends are currently shaping the activities and tours market in Saudi Arabia?

Ahussain: Saudi Arabia’s rich cultural heritage and diverse geography make it an ideal destination for those seeking immersive experiences. Almosafer has seen a growing demand for activities and recreation among Saudi residents, mainly in Riyadh and Jeddah, with personalized experiences like diving, snorkeling, and other adventure and nature-based activities being popular among domestic travelers.

Almosafer continues to promote local activations by partnering with key stakeholders in the industry. Additionally, we support SMEs through Almosafer Activities, the Kingdom’s first marketplace for tours and activities, which is now integrated with Almosafer’s other travel businesses and sells directly to domestic travelers.

SkiftX: What key trends do you predict will shape Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector over the next decade, and how should stakeholders adapt?

Ahussain: While religious tourism has traditionally been the cornerstone of the local tourism sector, leisure and entertainment travel are set to become additional major economic drivers moving forward. The development of giga-projects shows the ambitious scale of Saudi Arabia’s vision for the future. With outbound, domestic, and inbound tourism increasing, improving local infrastructure and offering seamless digital experiences will ensure travelers have unforgettable visits, making Saudi Arabia a must-visit destination.

For more information about Almosafer, click here .

This content was created collaboratively by Almosafer and Skift’s branded content studio, SkiftX . 

Have a confidential tip for Skift? Get in touch

Tags: accessible travel , booking technology , digital technology , infrastructure , religious travel , SkiftX Showcase: Destinations , SkiftX Showcase: Hospitality , SkiftX Showcase: Technology , Travel Trends

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Saudi Arabia launches Digital Tourism Strategy

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Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Tourism Ahmed bin Aqeel Al Khateeb has announced a three-year Digital Tourism Strategy, as the next step in the Kingdom’s continued reform of the sector. 

The announcement was made at LEAP, Saudi’s largest-ever tech event held in Riyadh yesterday (Feb 1).

The Ministry of Tourism is pioneering nine innovative programmes consisting of 31 core initiatives by 2025 – positively impacting residents, visitors, investors and the public and private sectors. These programmes will accelerate the kingdom’s National Tourism Strategy and Vision 2030 targets, including 100 million new visits and tourism’s 10 percent GDP contribution.

Al Khateeb said: “The Digital Tourism Strategy will help us to redesign tourism in the Kingdom and achieve our ambitious Vision 2030 objectives of making Saudi Arabia a world-leading tourist destination. The Kingdom’s execution of this strategy over the next three years will inspire the tourism sector…

Read further .

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Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements, alongside console screenshots of code examples:

Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website. In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels; descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups), and others. Additionally, the background process scans all the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology. To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on as soon as they enter the website.

These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.

Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside it.

Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

Disability profiles supported in our website

• Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
• Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
• Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
• ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
• Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
• Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments

• Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
• Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over seven different coloring options.
• Animations – person with epilepsy can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
• Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
• Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
• Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
• Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.

Browser and assistive technology compatibility

We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers).

Notes, comments, and feedback

Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs. There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to

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Since the launch of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is more open than ever before welcoming people from around the globe. With the introduction of the e-visa in 2019, millions of visitors have been drawn to the Kingdom, which has helped in creating jobs and driving local economic growth. To further promote the country as a tourist destination, initiatives in the areas of archaeology, culture, education, and the arts are being undertaken to preserve the Kingdom's rich heritage and natural beauty, while opening it up to the world. Major events like the Red Sea International Film Festival and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix are attracting visitors and showcasing the Kingdom's warm hospitality. Additionally, as a central location in the Arab and Islamic world, Saudi Arabia is enhancing its facilities and services to provide pilgrims with an unforgettable spiritual experience. As it welcomes the world to come and experience its unique offering, the Kingdom's breathtaking beauty and rich heritage make it a must-visit destination.

His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz

Crown Prince, Prime Minister, & Chairman of the Council of Economics and Development Affairs

Vision 2030 has enabled an economic transformation that has in turn driven a cultural transformation in Saudi Arabia. Through the digital economy and new sectors like tourism, gaming, entertainment, and culture, we are connecting the Saudi people to the world, and the world with Saudi Arabia.

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Desert Rock

Mohammed bin Salman Project for Developing Historic Mosques

Jeddah Central Project

Makkah Route Initiative

Soudah Development

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The Royal Institute of Traditional Arts

How to Create a Social Media Marketing Strategy in 9 Easy Steps [Free Template]

Creating your social media marketing strategy doesn’t need to be painful. Create an effective plan for your business in 9 simple steps.

A social media marketing strategy is a summary of everything you plan to do and hope to achieve on social media. It guides your actions and lets you know whether you’re succeeding or failing.

The more specific your plan is, the more effective it will be. Keep it concise. Don’t make it so lofty and broad that it’s unattainable or impossible to measure.

In this post, we’ll walk you through a nine-step plan to create a winning social media strategy of your own. We’ve even got expert insights from Amanda Wood, Hootsuite’s Senior Manager of Social Marketing.

How to create a social media strategy:

Bonus: Get a free social media strategy template   to quickly and easily plan your own strategy. Also use it to track results and present the plan to your boss, teammates, and clients.

What is a social media marketing strategy?

A social media strategy is a document outlining your social media goals, the tactics you will use to achieve them and the metrics you will track to measure your progress.

Your social media marketing strategy should also list all of your existing and planned social media accounts along with goals specific to each platform you’re active on. These goals should align with your business’s larger digital marketing strategy.

Finally, a good social media plan should define the roles and responsibilities within your team and outline your reporting cadence.

Create. Schedule. Publish. Engage. Measure. Win.

Creating your own social media marketing strategy (video guide)

No time to read the whole article? Let Amanda, Hootsuite’s own Senior Manager of Social Media Marketing, guide you through our free social media marketing strategy template in less than 10 minutes:

How to create a social media marketing strategy in 9 steps

Step 1. choose goals that align to business objectives, set s.m.a.r.t. goals.

The first step to creating a winning social media strategy is to establish clear objectives and goals. Without goals, you have no way to measure success and return on investment (ROI) .

Each of your social media marketing goals should be SMART : s pecific, m easurable, a ttainable, r elevant and t ime-bound.

Psst: Need help getting started? We’ve got social strategy guides for small businesses , financial services , government , higher education , healthcare , real estate , law firms , and non-profits .

Oh, and if you need examples of smart social media goals , we’ve got you covered there too.

Once you’ve decided on your goals, track them in a social media strategy doc — grab our free template if you don’t have one already.

Track meaningful metrics

Vanity metrics like number of followers and likes are easy to track, but it’s hard to prove their real value. Instead, focus on things like engagement, click-through, and conversion rates.

For inspiration, take a look at these 19 essential social media metrics .

You may want to track different goals for different social media networks, or even different uses for each network.

For example, if you use LinkedIn to drive traffic to your website, you would measure click-throughs. If Instagram is for brand awareness, you might track the number of Instagram Story views. And if you advertise on Facebook, cost-per-click (CPC) is a common success metric.

Social media goals should align with your overall marketing objectives. This makes it easier to show the value of your work and secure buy-in from your boss.

Start developing a successful social media marketing plan by writing down at least three goals for social media.

“ It’s easy to get overwhelmed by deciding what to post and which metrics to track, but you need to focus on what you want to get out of social media to begin with,” says Amanda Wood, Hootsuite’s Senior Manager of Social Marketing. “Don’t just start posting and tracking everything: match your goals to your business, and your metrics to your goals.”

Step 2. Learn everything you can about your audience

Get to know your fans, followers, and customers as real people with real wants and needs, and you will know how to target and engage them on social media.

When it comes to your ideal customer, you should know things like:

• Average income
• Typical job title or industry

Here’s a simple guide and template for creating audience/buyer personas .

Don’t forget to document this information in your strategy doc!

Social media analytics can also provide a ton of valuable information about who your followers are, where they live, and how they interact with your brand on social media. These insights allow you to refine your strategy and better target your audience.

Jugnoo, an Uber-like service for auto-rickshaws in India, used Facebook Analytics to learn that 90% of their users who referred other customers were between 18- and 34-years-old, and 65% of that group was using Android. They used that information to target their ads, resulting in a 40% lower cost per referral.

Check out our guide to using social media analytics and the tools you need to track them .

Step 3. Get to know your competition

Odds are your competitors are already using social media, and that means you can learn from what they’re doing.

Conduct a competitive analysis

A competitive analysis allows you to understand who the competition is and what they’re doing well (and not so well). You’ll get a good sense of what’s expected in your industry, which will help you set social media targets of your own.

It will also help you spot opportunities and weaknesses you can document in your social strategy doc.

Maybe one of your competitors is dominant on Facebook, for example, but has put little effort into X (Twitter) or Instagram. You might want to focus on the social media platforms where your audience is underserved, rather than trying to win fans away from a dominant player.

Use social media listening

Social listening is another way to keep an eye on your competitors.

Do searches of the competition’s company name, account handles, and other relevant keywords on social media. Find out what they’re sharing and what other people are saying about them. If they’re using influencer marketing, how much engagement do those campaigns earn them?

Pro tip : Use Hootsuite Streams to monitor relevant keywords, hashtags and accounts in real-time.

Try Hootsuite for free. You can cancel anytime.

As you track, you may notice shifts in how your competitors and industry leaders are using social media. You may come across new, exciting trends. You might even spot specific social content or a campaign that really hits the mark—or totally bombs.

Use this kind of intel to optimize and inform your own social media marketing strategy.

Just don’t go overboard on the spy tactics, Amanda advises. “ Make sure you aren’t ALWAYS comparing yourself to the competition — it can be a distraction. I’d say checking in on a monthly basis is healthy. Otherwise, focus on your own strategy and results.”

Step 4. Do a social media audit

If you’re already using social media, take stock of your efforts so far. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What’s working, and what’s not?
• Who is engaging with you?
• What are your most valuable partnerships?
• Which networks does your target audience use?
• How does your social media presence compare to the competition?

Once you collect that information, you’ll be ready to start thinking about ways to improve.

We’ve created an easy-to-follow social media audit guide and template to walk you through each step of this process.

Your audit should give you a clear picture of what purpose each of your social accounts serves. If the purpose of an account isn’t clear, think about whether it’s worth keeping.

To help you decide, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is my audience here?
• If so, how are they using this platform?
• Can I use this account to help achieve my goals?

Asking these tough questions will keep your social media strategy focused.

Look for impostor accounts

During the audit, you may discover fake accounts using your business name or the names of your products.

These imposters can be harmful to your brand—never mind that they’re capturing followers that should be yours.

You may want to get your accounts verified too to ensure your fans know they are dealing with the real you.

Here’s how to get verified on:

• X (Twitter)

Step 5. Set up accounts and improve profiles

Decide which networks to use.

As you decide which social networks to use, you will also need to define your strategy for each.

Benefit Cosmetics’ social media manager, Angela Purcaro, told eMarketer : “For our makeup tutorials … we’re all about Snapchat and Instagram Stories. [X], on the other hand, is designated for customer service.”

Hootsuite’s own social team even designates different purposes for formats within networks. On Instagram, for example, they use the feed to post high-quality educational infographics and product announcements and Stories to cover live events or quick social media updates.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Hootsuite 🦉 (@hootsuite)

Pro tip : Write out a mission statement for each network. A one-sentence declaration to keep you focused on a specific goal.

Example: “We will use X for customer support to keep email and call volumes down.”

Or: “We will use LinkedIn for promoting and sharing our company culture to help with recruitment and employee advocacy.”

One more: “We will use Instagram to highlight new products and repost quality content from influencers.”

If you can’t create a solid mission statement for a particular social media channel, you may want to ask yourself if it’s worth it.

Note : While larger businesses can and do tackle every platform, small businesses may not be able to — and that’s ok! Prioritize social platforms that will have the most impact on your business and make sure your marketing team has the resources to handle content for those networks. If you need help focusing your efforts, check out our 18-minute social media plan .

Set up your profiles

Once you’ve decided which networks to focus on, it’s time to create your profiles. Or improve existing ones so they align with your strategy.

• Make sure you fill out all profile fields
• Include keywords people would use to search for your business
• Use consistent branding (logos, images, etc.) across networks so your profiles are easily recognizable

Pro tip : Use high-quality images that follow the recommended dimensions for each network. Check out our always-up-to-date social media image size cheat sheet for quick reference.

We’ve also got step-by-step guides for each network to walk you through the process:

• Create a Facebook business page
• Create an Instagram business account
• Create a TikTok account
• Create a X (Twitter) business account
• Create a Snapchat account
• Create a LinkedIn Company Page
• Create a Pinterest business account
• Create a YouTube channel

Don’t let this list overwhelm you. Remember, it’s better to use fewer channels well than to stretch yourself thin trying to maintain a presence on every network.

Optimize your profiles (and content) for search

Never heard of social SEO ? It’s time to learn.

44% of Gen Z consumers use social platforms to research their purchase decisions, which means it’s extra critical that your channels are optimized for social search.

That means making sure your profile names are clear and descriptive, you’re including relevant hashtags and keywords in your bio and on every post, and you’re using features like alt text and captions to include your target keywords as naturally as possible.

Step 6. Find inspiration

While it’s important that your brand be unique, you can still draw inspiration from other businesses that are great on social.

“ I consider it my job to stay active on social: to know what’s trending, which campaigns are winning, what’s new with the platforms, who’s going above and beyond,” says Amanda. “This might be the most fun step for you, or the hardest one, but it’s just as crucial as the rest of them.”

Social media success stories

You can usually find these on the business section of the social network’s website. ( Here’s Facebook’s , for example.)

Case studies can offer valuable insights that you can apply to your own social media plan.

Award-winning accounts and campaigns

You could also check out the winners of The Facebook Awards or The Shorty Awards for examples of brands that are at the top of their social media game.

For learning and a laugh, check out Fridge-Worthy, Hootsuite’s bi-weekly awards show highlighting brands doing smart and clever things on social media.

Your favorite brands on social media

Who do you enjoy following on social media? What do they do that compels people to engage and share their content?

National Geographic, for example, is one of the best on Instagram, combining stunning visuals with compelling captions.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by National Geographic (@natgeo)

Then there’s Shopify. The ecommerce brand uses Facebook to sell themselves by showcasing customer stories and case studies.

And Lush Cosmetics is a great example of superior customer service on X. They use their 280 characters to answer questions and solve problems in an extremely charming and on-brand way.

Source: lushcosmetics on X

Notice that each of these accounts has a consistent voice, tone, and style. That’s key to letting people know what to expect from your feed. That is, why should they follow you? What’s in it for them?

Consistency also helps keep your content on-brand even if you have multiple people on your social media team.

For more on this, read our guide on establishing a compelling brand voice on social media .

Ask your followers

Consumers can also offer social media inspiration.

What are your target customers talking about online? What can you learn about their wants and needs?

If you have existing social channels, you could also ask your followers what they want from you. Just make sure that you follow through and deliver what they ask for.

Step 7. Create a social media content calendar

Sharing great content is essential, of course, but it’s equally important to have a plan in place for when you’ll share content to get the maximum impact.

Your social media content calendar also needs to account for the time you spend interacting with the audience (although you need to allow for some spontaneous engagement as well).

Set your posting schedule

Your social media content calendar lists the dates and times at which you will publish types of content on each channel. It’s the perfect place to plan all of your social media activities—from images, link sharing, and re-shares of user-generated content to blog posts and videos. It includes both your day-to-day posting and content for social media campaigns.

Your calendar also ensures your posts are spaced out appropriately and published at the best times to post .

Pro tip: You can plan your whole content calendar and get recommended best times to post on every network based on your past engagement rate, impressions, or link click data in Hootsuite.

Hootsuite’s Best Time to Publish feature

Determine the right content mix

Make sure your content strategy and calendar reflect the mission statement you’ve assigned to each social profile, so that everything you post is working to support your business goals.

(We know, it’s tempting to jump on every meme, but there should always be a strategy behind your social media marketing efforts!)

You might decide that:

• 50% of content will drive traffic back to your website
• 25% of content will be curated from other sources
• 20% of content will support lead-generation goals (newsletter sign-ups, ebook downloads, etc.)
• 5% of content will be about your company culture

Placing these different post types in your content calendar will ensure you maintain the right mix.

If you’re starting from scratch and you’re not sure what types of content to post, try the 80-20 rule :

• 80% of your posts should inform, educate, or entertain your audience
• 20% can directly promote your brand.

You could also try the social media content marketing rule of thirds :

• One-third of your content promotes your business, converts readers, and generates profit.
• One-third of your content shares ideas and stories from thought leaders in your industry or like-minded businesses.
• One-third of your content is personal interactions with your audience

Whatever you decide on, be sure to document it in your strategy doc.

Don’t post too much or too little

If you’re starting a social media marketing strategy from scratch, you may not have figured out how often to post to each network for maximum engagement yet.

Post too frequently and you risk annoying your audience. But, if you post too little, you risk looking like you’re not worth following.

Start with these posting frequency recommendations:

• Instagram (feed): 3-7 times per week
• TikTok: 3-5 times per week
• Facebook: 1-2 times per day
• X (Twitter): 1-5 times per day
• LinkedIn: 1-5 times per day

Pro tip : Once you have your social media content calendar planned out, use a scheduling tool to prepare messages in advance rather than updating constantly throughout the day.

We might be biased, but we think Hootsuite is the best social media management tool. You can schedule social media posts to every network and the intuitive calendar view gives you a full picture of all your social activity each week.

Try It Free

Step 8. Create compelling content

Remember those mission statements you created for each channel in Step 5? Well, it’s time to go a bit deeper, a.k.a. provide some examples of the type of content you’ll post to fulfill your mission on each network.

If you’re not sure what to post, here’s a long list of social media content ideas to get you started. Or (to make it even easier) you can use an AI tool like OwlyWriter to generate on-brand content in a flash.

The idea here is to:

• Keep your content aligned with the purpose of each network;
• Show other stakeholders (if applicable) what kind of content they can expect to see on each network.

This last point especially will help you avoid any tension when your colleagues want to know why you haven’t posted their case study/whitepaper/blog post to TikTok yet. It’s not in the strategy, Linda!

Ideally, you will generate content types that are both suited to the network and the purpose you’ve set out for that network.

For example, you wouldn’t want to waste time posting brand awareness tweets if you’ve designated X/Twitter for primarily customer support. And you wouldn’t want to post super polished corporate video ads to TikTok, as users expect to see short, unpolished videos on that platform.

It might take some testing over time to figure out which type of content works best on which type of network, so prepare to update this section frequently.

We won’t lie: content creation isn’t as easy as everyone not on the social team seems to think. But if you’re struggling, Amanda suggests going back to basics.

The first question to ask is: is there cohesion between your content types? Is your content providing value? Do you have a good mix of entertaining, or educational content? What does it offer that makes a person stop and spend time? Creating a few different content pillars or categories that encompass different aspects of storytelling for your brand, and what you can offer your audience is a good start.

This brings us to Step 9.

Step 9. Track performance and make adjustments

Your social media marketing strategy is a hugely important document for your business, and you can’t assume you’ll get it exactly right on the first try.

As you start to implement your plan and track your results, you may find that some strategies don’t work as well as you’d anticipated, while others are working even better than expected.

That’s why it’s important to document your progress along the way.

Look at performance metrics

In addition to the analytics within each social network (see Step 2), you can use UTM parameters to track social visitors as they move through your website, so you can see exactly which social posts drive the most traffic to your website.

Benchmark your results

You’ve got your numbers, but how do they stack up to the competition in your industry? Industry benchmarks are a great way to evaluate your performance against other businesses in your category.

If you’ve got Hootsuite Analytics , you can use our built-in social media benchmarking tool to compare the performance of your social accounts against the average of brands in your industry with just a couple of clicks.

You can set up custom timeframes, switch between networks — Instagram, Facebook, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and TikTok — and look up benchmarks for metrics like followers, audience growth rate, engagement rate, clicks, shares, and much more.

You’ll also find resources to improve your performance  right in the summary section:

Re-evaluate, test, and do it all again

Once this data starts coming in, use it to re-evaluate your strategy regularly. You can also use this information to test different posts, social marketing campaigns, and strategies against one another. Constant testing allows you to understand what works and what doesn’t, so you can refine your social media marketing strategy in real time.

You’ll want to check the performance of all your channels at least once a week and get to know the basics of social media reporting so you can track your growth over time.

Pro tip: If you use Hootsuite, you can review the performance of all your posts on every network in one place. Once you get the hang of checking your analytics, you may even want to customize different reports to show specific metrics over a variety of different time periods.

Surveys can also be a great way to find out how well your social media strategy is working. Ask your followers, email list, and website visitors whether you’re meeting their needs and expectations, and what they’d like to see more of. Then make sure to deliver on what they tell you.

Finalizing your social media strategy

Spoiler alert: nothing is final.

Social media moves fast. New networks emerge, others go through demographic shifts.

Your business will go through periods of change as well.

All of this means that your social media marketing strategy should be a living document that you review and adjust as needed. Refer to it often to stay on track, but don’t be afraid to make changes so that it better reflects new goals, tools, or plans.

When you update your social strategy, make sure to watch our 5-step video on how to updating your social media strategy for 2024:

Social media strategy template

Ready to start documenting? Grab your free social media strategy template below!

What’s next? When you’re ready to put your plan into action, we’re here to help…

Save time managing your social media marketing strategy with Hootsuite. From a single dashboard you can easily:

• Plan, create, and schedule posts to every network
• Track relevant keywords, topics, and accounts
• Stay on top of engagement with a universal inbox
• Get easy-to-understand performance reports and improve your strategy as needed

Try Hootsuite for Free

With files from Shannon Tien .

Do it better with Hootsuite , the all-in-one social media tool. Stay on top of things, grow, and beat the competition.

Become a better social marketer.

Get expert social media advice delivered straight to your inbox.

Christina Newberry is an award-winning writer and editor whose greatest passions include food, travel, urban gardening, and the Oxford comma—not necessarily in that order.

Amanda Wood is a senior social marketing professional who combines analytical and creative thinking to build brands.

As head of social at Hootsuite, Amanda oversees the global social strategy encompassing organic and paid social on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and LinkedIn, a social engagement and listening strategy, and an employee advocacy program.

As the leader of a high-performing social team, she has extensive experience collaborating with creatives to bring campaigns to life on social and drive business results.

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