A thriving blue economy for the Red Sea

The kingdom’s strategic location at a continental crossroads has created a colossal cultural legacy from the successive civilisations of the Arabian Peninsula dating back to the dawn of history. The Red Sea coast was essential to the processes of cultural exchange between continents, facilitated by a rich seafaring way of life that lasted for millennia.

The connection with the sea, which contributed to the cultural identity of the entire region, is something The Red Sea Development Company is working hard to showcase.

Having direct access to the ocean does not necessarily mean one will engage with it. Although our connection with the sea is an inevitable need intrinsic to human nature, it sometimes requires curation. Like some other Middle East leisure industries, an overarching uncertainty on the real potential of recreational marine activities in the region has traditionally resulted in an effective glass ceiling, preventing the market forces of industries like yachting from taking hold in Saudi Arabia.

Vision 2030 and its associated tourism projects is a game-changer for the entire economic, social, and cultural landscape of Saudi Arabia – an integrated set of social infrastructure investments, and legislative, and financial reforms to open the kingdom’s economy as an international business hub and tourist destination.

However, for the Red Sea, it means even more than that. Our projects, particularly AMAALA, are the key to establishing a living shoreline with a thriving blue economy along the Red Sea coastline. One of the main catalysers for implementing our strategy is developing a renewed yachting industry and other water recreation activities.

The living-shoreline strategy follows our general regenerative approach to tourism, protecting and enhancing the environment by merging into it. We design, construct and operate in ways that facilitate natural coastal processes instead of disrupting them. For instance, by strategically placing plants, reefs, sand, and natural barriers, living shorelines encourage the recruitment and growth of native species.

The key, as it always was, is nature. The value of natural capital is the essential variable to consider when designing new business models that redefine success. Its depletion poses a significant challenge to achieving sustainable development objectives and decreasing a destination’s value.

Ours is a holistic approach covering key activities within the Blue Economy, activating all associated growth vectors to benefit from the ecosystem and tourism products and services. A solid investment in blue economy activities reports benefits in the shape of carbon sequestration capacity, clean air, coastal natural protection, waste disposal, public health, and ecosystem resilience through biodiversity.

We avoid and discourage depletion activities that lead to uneconomic growth, like excessive fishing, and replace them with new tourism activities that will lead to sustainable economic development.

AMAALA’s natural wonders will serve as a backdrop for a range of rejuvenating and spiritual outdoor activities. Visitors will experience mindfulness while enjoying activities in peaceful natural marine surroundings. Furthermore, AMAALA will become a catalyser for a thriving yachting industry, turning Saudi Arabia into a global hub to extend the Mediterranean yachting season and a formidable alternative for the hundreds of yachts that already cross the Suez Canal into the Red Sea every year.

Our living-shoreline coastal activation strategy for the destination comprises four main segments, including domestic leisure yachting and water sports, international superyachts visits, chartering and transit, customized international sporting events like premium level regattas, and the recently inaugurated Saudi cruise market.

Tangible expectations drive our planning. The value of the non-oil marine sector in Saudi Arabia is estimated at $3.5 billion according to a BCG report created for the Transport General Authority in 2020.

Following National Geographic’s “Pristine” conservation principle that a fish is worth more alive in the water than dead in your fishing net, tourist activities around natural marine habitats represent a valuable opportunity for regenerative growth. Besides that, a developed yachting market could generate a contribution of up to $1bn to GDP and 8,500 jobs.

Like we do on all fronts, our blue economy yachting strategy will contribute to generating an extensive range of new career paths – from academic marine biologists to yacht drivers – positively impacting all professional design and operational levels, including opportunities in local rural areas historically dependent on fishing.

We are talking about exciting, unusual jobs in new industries directly related to the ocean. For example, TRSDC signed an agreement earlier this month with Blue Planet Ecosystems to deliver an aquaculture pilot scheme, a first for the region. This is part of the larger effort at TRSDC to create 120,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs across The Red Sea Project and AMAALA.

We are not dropping imported masterplans and business models onto a region. Instead, we are developing, shaping, improving, and opening up resources for the kingdom’s sustainable diversification. In particular, ocean-related jobs feature a high Saudisation potential, a driving principle for a company like TRSDC, where already half of the staff are Saudis.

Recreational yachting is a strong demonstration of how the transformational potential of tourism can be vectorised into specific policies, regulations, and business model applications. For us, it is also a unique historic opportunity to build a new relationship between Saudis and the sea. An entry gate for economic and cultural socialisation with the ocean, once again. A cast that, once spelled, will forever hold us in its net of wonder.

John Pagano, CEO of TRSDC and AMAALA.