WTM Spotlight Riyadh has been launched to connect the global travel industry with one of the world’s fastest-evolving tourism markets, as Saudi Arabia accelerates its Vision 2030 ambitions across destination development, aviation, hospitality and infrastructure. According to Danielle Curtis, Regional Portfolio Director, UAE, RX, the new event is designed as a focused, curated platform that reflects both sides of the Kingdom’s tourism opportunity: its rapid rise as an inbound destination and its growing influence as a high-value outbound market. Bringing together more than 450 exhibitors, over 6,500 regional and international visitors, and 150 hand-selected international hosted buyers, the inaugural edition aims to move brands beyond interest into practical business development through pre-scheduled meetings, targeted networking and market insight. With Riyadh positioned at the centre of Saudi Arabia’s transformation, the event will provide direct access to local buyers, decision-makers and stakeholders, while encouraging deeper conversations around premium travel, market access, resilience, visitor confidence and long-term collaboration.
Q1. WTM Spotlight Riyadh is an exciting addition to the portfolio. What was the strategic thinking behind launching this event in Saudi Arabia at this moment?
Saudi Arabia was selected because it is one of the fastest-growing and most transformative tourism markets globally. Under Vision 2030, the Kingdom is making substantial investments across tourism infrastructure, aviation, hospitality, and destination development, fundamentally reshaping both regional and international travel landscapes.
Launching WTM Spotlight Riyadh at this moment reflects the scale and pace of that transformation. The event has been designed as a focused, high-impact platform that connects local and international travel stakeholders, enabling the global industry to engage directly with one of the world’s most dynamic markets. In addition, 150 hosted international travel buyers have been meticulously hand-selected, creating an environment where opportunities can be explored, partnerships formed, and innovation supported in line with Saudi Arabia’s long-term tourism ambitions.
Q2. Saudi Arabia is attracting huge attention from across the global travel sector. Why did now feel like the right time for a focused trade event in Riyadh?
This is a pivotal moment for Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector. The Kingdom is accelerating its inbound tourism ambitions while also emerging as one of the most influential outbound markets globally, with spending of US$27.5 billion in 2025, according to research by Coherent Market Insights, and continues to grow strongly in the years ahead.
In addition, Vision 2030 has placed tourism at the centre of economic diversification, supported by large-scale investment, expanding aviation connectivity, and rapid hospitality development.
Bringing WTM Spotlight Riyadh to market now ensures that the global travel industry can engage with this transformation as it happens. It provides a platform to better understand evolving traveller behaviour, access new opportunities, and establish partnerships that will shape the next phase of tourism growth in Saudi Arabia and beyond.
Q3. How would you describe the core purpose of WTM Spotlight Riyadh in one sentence?
WTM Spotlight Riyadh connects the world to Saudi and Saudi to the world by bringing together regional and global travel products with local travel buyers and consumers to source products, discover trends, gain insights, and shape travel experiences, while sourcing and qualifying 150 international travel buyers with clear business intent for Saudi Arabia to support the growth of inbound tourism and long-term industry collaboration.
Q4. Saudi Arabia is a story of both inbound opportunity and outbound spending power. How does the event reflect both sides of that market?
WTM Spotlight Riyadh has been designed to reflect the full breadth of Saudi Arabia’s tourism ecosystem, bringing together both inbound and outbound aspects within a single platform.
From an inbound perspective, the event showcases the Kingdom’s rapidly expanding tourism offering, from new destinations and giga-projects to hospitality, infrastructure, and cultural experiences, all aligned with Vision 2030’s ambition to position Saudi Arabia as a leading global destination.
At the same time, it provides international destinations, airlines, and travel providers with direct access to one of the world’s most valuable outbound markets. Saudi travellers are increasingly influencing global demand, particularly in the luxury and experience-led segments, and the event enables global partners to better understand and engage with this high-yield audience.
By bringing these two forces together, WTM Spotlight Riyadh creates a unique environment where supply and demand meet, enabling meaningful commercial outcomes.
Q5. The Saudi traveller is becoming increasingly important for destinations around the world. What makes this market so significant right now?
Saudi travellers are among the highest-value segments globally, underscored by strong spending power, a clear preference for premium experiences, and a growing appetite for personalised travel.
Research indicates that 41% of Saudi travellers choose five-star accommodation, with daily hotel spending exceeding US$300, while 86% opt for full-service airlines, reflecting a broader emphasis on comfort, quality, and service.
What makes the market particularly significant right now is the combination of scale and evolution. Outbound travel is expanding rapidly, supported by rising disposable income, strong digital adoption, and increasing global confidence. At the same time, travellers are broadening their horizons beyond traditional destinations, exploring new markets across Europe and Asia.
For international destinations, this represents a major opportunity to attract high-spending visitors, understand their preferences, and adapt offerings to meet the expectations of a market shaping global travel trends.
Q6. What kind of buyer and delegate profile are you aiming to bring together at WTM Spotlight Riyadh?
WTM Spotlight Riyadh is designed to bring together a highly targeted and influential mix of stakeholders from across the global travel ecosystem.
This includes international hosted buyers from key source markets, Saudi-based travel buyers and decision-makers, as well as global destinations, hotel groups, airlines, and travel technology providers. The event is expected to welcome more than 450 exhibitors, over 6,500 regional and international visitors, and 150 international hosted buyers, ensuring a strong balance between supply and demand.
We aim to create a platform where participants can engage in pre-scheduled meetings, exchange insights, and develop long-term partnerships. By combining regional expertise with global reach, WTM Spotlight Riyadh enables connections that support both immediate business outcomes and sustained growth across the tourism industry.
Q7. How important is the quality of meetings and curation in shaping the event’s identity from day one?
The quality of meetings and the level of curation are central to WTM Spotlight Riyadh’s positioning. In addition to our meetings platform, our smart tools enhance the customer experience, ensuring they maximise the connections made during the event, benchmark against their competitors, and, in the process, set this event apart from other travel platforms. From the outset, the event has been designed as a high-value, outcomes-driven platform where every interaction is purposeful.
Through pre-scheduled meetings, a carefully selected buyer programme comprising 150 international qualified hosted travel buyers and a balanced mix of regional travel buyers and travel trade professionals, we are prioritising relevance over volume. This ensures that exhibitors and buyers engage in meaningful discussions that can translate into real business opportunities.
Q8. What do you believe international exhibitors most want to understand about the Saudi market before they commit meaningful investment?
Primarily, international exhibitors are seeking to understand the scale of opportunity, the behaviour of Saudi travellers, and how to effectively access and engage the market, particularly by connecting with travel buyers in the region.
Saudi Arabia offers a rapidly expanding inbound tourism landscape and one of the world’s most valuable outbound markets. What is equally important is understanding the nuances: traveller preferences, cultural expectations, seasonality, and distribution channels, for example.
WTM Spotlight Riyadh helps address these questions by providing direct access to local buyers, partners, and stakeholders, as well as practical insights into aligning products and strategies with market demand.
Q9. How is the event designed to help travel brands move from interest in Saudi Arabia to practical business development?
The event has been structured to bridge the gap between market interest and tangible business outcomes.
Through curated meetings, targeted networking, and a strong hosted-buyer programme, exhibitors can engage directly with decision-makers and buyers who are actively sourcing products and partnerships. At the same time, the conference programme provides the context needed to understand market dynamics, consumer behaviour, and investment priorities.
This combination of insight and access enables travel brands to move beyond exploration and into practical, commercially viable strategies.
Q10. Riyadh is becoming an increasingly important business and tourism centre. What makes it the right host city for this launch?
Riyadh is at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s transformation and has rapidly established itself as a hub for investment, business, and global collaboration. As the capital, it is where key decisions are made and where major tourism, infrastructure, and aviation developments are advancing. It also plays a central role in hosting international events and attracting global business activity.
Positioning WTM Spotlight Riyadh in the city allows participants to engage directly with the ecosystem shaping the Kingdom’s tourism future, making it the natural and strategic choice for the event’s launch.
Q11. What distinguishes WTM Spotlight Riyadh from a broader trade exhibition or conference format?
WTM Spotlight Riyadh is designed to be more focused, more curated, and more immersive than a traditional trade exhibition. It complements the WTM portfolio by offering more direct access to Saudi stakeholders through a targeted B2B2C environment, featuring prearranged meetings, curated content, and a strong emphasis on experience, enabling participants to engage with the market more meaningfully.
As mentioned, it is about connecting the world to Saudi and Saudi to the world and having the opportunity to experience the city and the country firsthand.
Q12. What kinds of conversations do you hope the event will unlock around outbound demand, premium travel and market access?
We expect the event to drive deeper conversations around how destinations and travel providers can better understand and serve the Saudi traveller.
This includes discussions around premium and luxury travel, personalised experiences, and the growing importance of lifestyle-driven tourism, in which culture, retail, wellness, and entertainment are central to the journey.
Equally important are conversations about market access, how to build the right partnerships, develop distribution strategies, and define product offerings to effectively engage this high-value segment.
Q13. Saudi Arabia’s tourism development has been rapid and ambitious. How does WTM Spotlight Riyadh help attendees make sense of that wider ecosystem?
The pace and scale of development in Saudi Arabia can be complex to navigate, particularly for international stakeholders.
WTM Spotlight Riyadh provides a structured platform for understanding this ecosystem in a clear, practical way. By bringing together government stakeholders, developers, destinations, and the private sector, the event offers a comprehensive view of how different verticals of the tourism sector – hospitality, aviation, infrastructure, and experiences – fit together.
The conference programme and on-site engagement help translate this broader transformation into actionable insights for businesses.
Q14. How important is it for the event to bring together destinations, airlines, hoteliers, attractions, travel tech, and intermediaries in one place?
It is essential. Tourism is an interconnected ecosystem, and its success depends on how effectively different sectors collaborate.
By bringing together the full travel value chain, WTM Spotlight Riyadh enables more holistic conversations and integrated partnerships. Destinations can align with airlines on connectivity, hoteliers can engage with tour operators and agents, and technology providers can support the entire journey from inspiration to booking and experience.
This approach reflects how modern tourism operates and is key to unlocking long-term growth.
Q15. What are you seeing in terms of international appetite to engage with Saudi buyers and travel businesses?
We are seeing very strong international interest in engaging with the Saudi market.
Saudi travellers are widely recognised as one of the most valuable outbound segments globally, and there is growing awareness of both their spending power and evolving preferences. At the same time, the Kingdom’s rapid development as an inbound destination is attracting significant attention from global travel brands and investors. As a result, we are seeing very strong international interest in engaging with this market.
These opportunities combined are driving strong demand for platforms like WTM Spotlight Riyadh that provide direct access to buyers, partners, and decision-makers.
Q16. How do you see the balance between thought leadership and commercial meetings within the event format?
Again, these are both vital elements and have been designed to complement each other.
Thought leadership provides context by helping participants understand market trends, consumer behaviour, and strategic direction, while commercial meetings enable those insights to translate into business outcomes.
By integrating a strong conference programme with a structured show floor, WTM Spotlight Riyadh ensures that knowledge and action go hand in hand.
Q17. In the current geopolitical climate, has that changed the themes, programming or conversations you expect to shape the event?
The global environment has reinforced the importance of resilience, adaptability, and collaboration within the travel industry.
As a result, conversations around market diversification, traveller confidence, operational flexibility, and sustainable growth are becoming increasingly important. WTM Spotlight Riyadh will reflect these priorities, providing a platform for stakeholders to share perspectives and identify strategies that support long-term stability and growth.
Q18. What questions are you hearing from exhibitors, delegates, and partners about regional stability, confidence, and visitor safety, and what reassurance can you offer?
There is naturally a focus on stability, confidence, and long-term market viability, particularly in a rapidly evolving global landscape.
Saudi Arabia has demonstrated a strong commitment to developing a safe, secure, and well-regulated tourism environment, supported by significant investment in infrastructure, technology, and visitor experience.
The Kingdom’s clear strategic direction under Vision 2030, combined with its continued delivery of large-scale projects and international events, inspires confidence among partners looking to engage with the market.
Q19. As this is an inaugural edition, what would success look like for you in year one?
Success in year one is about establishing WTM Spotlight Riyadh as a credible, high-impact platform that delivers real value to participants.
This includes facilitating meaningful business connections, generating commercial outcomes, and providing insights that help stakeholders better understand and engage with the Saudi market.
Equally important is the quality of the experience. We want to ensure all exhibitors, buyers, and delegates leave with a clear sense of opportunity and a strong foundation for future engagement.
Q20. Looking beyond the launch, what long-term role do you hope WTM Spotlight Riyadh will play in connecting Saudi Arabia with the global travel industry?
In the long term, WTM Spotlight Riyadh is positioned to become a key platform for connecting Saudi Arabia with the global travel industry.
As the Kingdom continues to evolve under Vision 2030, the event will play an ongoing role in facilitating partnerships, supporting knowledge exchange, and helping international stakeholders navigate one of the world’s most dynamic tourism markets.
Ultimately, it will help strengthen Saudi Arabia’s position as both a leading destination and a major source market, while supporting the broader development of a more connected and collaborative global tourism ecosystem.
