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| My husband and me in Asir Region, KSA, December 30, 2020 |
Let’s paint a clear picture of the future because as Covey (2020) pointed out, if we have a clear vision of where we want to be, we can “be truly effective” (p. 112) in achieving our goals. In our clear vision of the future, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is a prime tourist destination, hotel rooms and desert campsites are full, world currencies are flowing into the country, Saudi hospitality is known around the globe, and there is a better understanding of the Muslim people and their faith. This is the picture Saudi wants for herself - that clear vision. To this end, the groundwork has already begun. KSA begun issuing tourist visas on September 27, 2019 (Saudi Tourism Authority, n.d., para. 1). The Saudi Tourism Authority (n.d.) declared “the new visa system is a historic milestone in opening Saudi Arabia to tourism” (para. 2). Before that, tourism in the Kingdom was mostly limited to Umrah and Hajj, holy pilgrimages to Mecca, but now, the rest of the country is free to be explored. The next step is making the remarkable natural and cultural sites fit for the tourists who have high expectations. They want clean, safe places to stay and clean, safe places to visit. To achieve this, littering has to stop. To stop littering, there has to be a shift in how we see the desert. To shift mindsets, we have to put an anti-littering campaign in place, and I believe Saudi tour guides can play a big part in promoting the campaign.
This winter, KSA got a taste of what a peak tourist season could look like. Due to Covid-19, Saudi was, and still is, on lockdown. While expatriates can leave the country, Saudis cannot, and many expatriates chose to stay in the Kingdom just in case the country completely closed again. People, who normally flood out of the country for most holidays - who had not traveled in over a year, needed - yes, needed - to travel. Sites like Abha, Al-Oula, and Jazan saw a spike in local and expatriate visitors. Saudi is home to five UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and we visited an ancient communal (a site to be added to that list) dwelling in the Asir region during a trip my family and I took to Jazan and Abha in December. That was a trip we would not have taken if it were not for the current circumstances. Granted, we saw beautiful scenery and experienced Saudi hospitality to the extreme. However, just like Riyadh and The Empty Quarter, the mountains and cities in the southeast were littered. This brought us to the conclusion that it was a wonderful experience but not one we were likely to repeat.
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| Ancient Dwelling in Asir Region, KSA, December 30, 2020 |
I would like to point out that when one visits a place of natural beauty, like many of the sites in KSA, one wants to feel at peace. Beauty, harmony, and order (Center for Nonviolent Communication, 2005) are what one would expect to find in such peaceful places - not water bottles, crisps bags, and sheep or fish bones. The frustrating part is that it would just take a little bit of effort to get the trash where it needs to be for the sense of peace to be achieved.
I indeed am writing out of frustration because we do not all see eye-to-eye on this issue. Some people see littering as normal, and this is what we want to change in order to achieve the end vision for Saudi's tourism. I challenge tour guides to help people understand that it is not in Saudi's collective interest to continue to throw trash on the ground. Our tour guide, Mr. Khaled Took, a Saudi national, told us a story about how his interactions with an American soldier helped him realize that it was not acceptable to litter, what he referred to as, “just the desert” in his story. During our time with Mr. Took, we came to feel the great love he has for his country and his desire to help people see what he sees when he looks at the beautiful Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Perhaps Mr. Took and other dedicated tour guides like him can be Saudi’s Lorax. They can spread the end vision and help people take those steps necessary to make that vision a reality.
References
Center for Nonviolent Communication. (2005). Needs Inventory. https://www.cnvc.org/training/resource/needs-inventory
Covey, S. R. (2020). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: 30th Anniversary Edition [Kindle]. East Roseville: Simon & amp; Schuster Australia.
Saudi Tourism Authority. (n.d.). Saudi Tourist Visa. https://www.visitsaudi.com/en/about-e-visa
UNESCO. (n.d.).World Heritage List. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/
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