Integrated Regional Tourism Development Planning in Saudi Arabia: A Framework for Sustainable Infrastructure and Destination Growth under Vision 2030

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@article{1723504,
      author = {Anandha Padmanaban Mohan},
      title = {Integrated Regional Tourism Development Planning in Saudi Arabia: A Framework for Sustainable Infrastructure and Destination Growth under Vision 2030},
      journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
      year = {2026},
      volume = {10},
      number = {3},
      pages = {3252-3265},
      issn = {2456-8880},
      url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1723504.pdf},
      abstract = {Saudi Arabia is moving away from having tourism based on a number of individual flagship destinations towards establishing a development system that is linked across territories, in which issues relating to mobility, utilities, heritage, ecosystems, communities and investment have to be coordinated on a regional basis. This study presents an integrated framework for regional tourism development planning aimed at achieving sustainable infrastructure and destination growth in line with Vision 2030. In order to do this, a structured integrative review was carried out using peer-reviewed literature published between 2020 and 2025, with recent research conducted in Saudi Arabia serving as a foundation and the review being extended via citation chaining in the areas of sustainable tourism, regional planning, destination governance, infrastructure, conservation and resilience. The synthesis highlights five recurring planning tensions: the balance between concentrating benefits and spreading them territorially; the conflict between rapidly expanding capacity and ecological constraints; the tension between delivering iconic projects and ensuring network connectivity; the dilemma between destination competitiveness and the legitimacy of the residents; and the issue between setting growth targets and maintaining adaptive performance control. It is shown that infrastructure is most effective when planned as part of a regional portfolio rather than as separate assets for individual destinations, with transport, water, energy, digital systems and the public realm being arranged in accordance with carrying capacity and local economic connections. The paper puts forward a framework that combines a regional spatial diagnosis, destination archetyping, infrastructure readiness, ecological and social thresholds, investment phasing, governance coordination and indicator-based adaptation. It maintains that Saudi tourism planning should move from a focus on individual projects to connected destination systems which distribute demand, protect environmental and cultural assets, enhance the local capture of value and allow the level of development to be adjusted as new evidence becomes available. The framework thus provides a practical basis for regional authorities, destination managers and infrastructure agencies who wish to turn the ambitions set out in Vision 2030 into sustainable and locally appropriate tourism growth.},
      month = {September},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV10I3-1723504}
  }