KSA’s Culinary Arts Commission has launched a major national initiative titled “Taste Saudi”, designed to enrich the dining experience across the Kingdom’s restaurants, hotels and airlines by placing Saudi cuisine and regional food heritage at centre stage. The programme forms part of a wider effort to strengthen the role of culture in everyday life and to broaden the Kingdom’s tourism offering in line with Vision 2030.
This initiative comes at a strategic moment when the Kingdom is rapidly redefining its tourism, cultural and hospitality sectors under Saudi Vision 2030—and may well become a key driver for luxury travel, food tourism and cultural differentiation.
What “Taste Saudi” sets out to do
According to the press release, the programme will:
- Showcase Saudi Arabia’s culinary identity through cultural dimensions — inviting visitors and residents to discover traditional dishes and ingredients that reflect the country’s natural and regional diversity.
- Use dining as a gateway to exploring deeper culture — turning each meal into a journey where flavours meet heritage, regional identity and culinary knowledge.
- Strengthen national pride and create fresh opportunities for the hospitality and creative-economy sectors, while aligning with Vision 2030 objectives to integrate the arts and culture into everyday life.
In essence, the Commission is signaling that the act of dining can no longer be viewed simply as fuel or service — it is now part of the experience economy, especially in high-end and international-visitor segments.
Why this matters for luxury hospitality and food tourism
From a luxury travel perspective, the initiative has several implications:
- Differentiation of Saudi gastronomy — For premium travellers seeking authenticity and uniqueness, “Taste Saudi” offers a curated palette of regional dishes and locally sourced ingredients that can elevate stays at high-end properties, resorts and destination hotels.
- Tourism product enhancement — High-net-worth travellers and international visitors increasingly expect immersive experiences. The linking of cuisine with cultural storytelling and regional provenance aligns perfectly with luxury-market demands.
- Regional culinary ecosystems — By emphasising regional diversity and heritage cuisine, the initiative helps shift the narrative away from homogeneous hospitality offerings to differentiated regional experiences (Red Sea, Asir, Najran, Hijaz, etc).
- Upselling opportunities for high-end F&B outlets — Hotels, premium restaurants and airline gourmet services can leverage the “Taste Saudi” branding to offer bespoke menus, chef-led tastings, cultural-food tours and partnerships with local producers.
- Inbound appeal and MICE-food synergy — For conferences, incentive travel and luxury events, the elevation of Saudi cuisine through this initiative can become a talking point, a memorable component of the programme and a branding advantage.
Implementation challenges and opportunities
Implementing “Taste Saudi” across the wide range of hospitality venues and platforms will involve both challenges and opportunities:
- Standardisation vs authenticity — Ensuring a consistent standard of quality while preserving regional authenticity will be vital. High-end properties may need to engage local producers, chefs and heritage food experts.
- Training and human capital — To deliver the cultural narrative behind the food, staff across restaurants and hotels will need to be trained not only in service but in local culinary stories, provenance, and regional ingredients.
- Supply-chain development — For luxury tourism venues to deliver authentic Saudi dishes, sourcing high-quality regional ingredients and establishing connections with local producers will be key.
- Branding and storytelling — The initiative presents a branding challenge: how to weave “Taste Saudi” into the guest journey in a manner that appeals to global luxury travellers without becoming gimmicky.
- Cross-sector integration — From airlines to resorts to city-centre fine-dining, aligning menus, guest experiences and culinary touch-points under the “Taste Saudi” umbrella will require coordination across segments.
The broader cultural and economic impact
Beyond hospitality, “Taste Saudi” forms part of the wider drive to promote culture, arts and creative economy as pillars of the Kingdom’s future growth. The Culinary Arts Commission has previously launched initiatives to map regional dishes across the 13 provinces and to present Saudi cuisine on the global stage.
By positioning cuisine as cultural heritage and differentiator in tourism, the initiative supports several strands of Vision 2030:
- Empowering creative industries and cultural enterprises.
- Enhancing national identity and projecting Saudi Arabia’s soft power through food.
- Diversifying tourism offerings and increasing average spend per visitor via premium culinary experience.
Moreover, for the luxury segment, “Taste Saudi” can become a destination signature—a reason in itself to visit, to explore, and to dine.
What to watch
For advisors working in luxury travel, several developments will be worth monitoring:
- Which global or local chefs will become “Taste Saudi” ambassadors or partners.
- Which high-end resorts and hotels will launch dedicated “Taste Saudi” menus and experiences.
- How the initiative is integrated into destination-marketing campaigns for regions like AlUla, the Red Sea, Asir and Hijaz.
- Whether curated culinary-heritage tours (for example, food-producer visits, spice-trails, regional-dish tastings) will emerge and be promoted to high-net-worth travellers.
- How airlines and hospitality transport offer “Taste Saudi” in lounges, in-flight menus and arrival dining for premium passengers.
In summary, “Taste Saudi” is much more than a menu label—it is a strategic cultural and tourism initiative designed to transform how Saudi Arabia presents itself gastronomically and how the hospitality sector responds to a new breed of discerning global travellers. For luxury travel advisors and hospitality professionals, the initiative opens fresh pathways to design unique experiences, deepen destination storytelling and elevate the Saudi travel offering.
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Read also: Culinary Arts Commission highlights Saudi Cuisine in Delice Network Meeting
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Photos courtesy Saudi Tourism Authority
