With the launch of the inaugural TOURISE Summit this month, the Kingdom’s Tourism Ministry has set out to position the Saudi capital as a “control room” for the next era of global travel – a place where tourism’s future would be designed, funded, and fast-tracked.
Held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and powered by the Saudi Ministry of Tourism, TOURISE brought together ministers, city leaders, investors, technologists, hoteliers, and creatives from across the world. Over three days, more than 8,000 delegates and 140 speakers converged around a simple but ambitious idea: that tourism, if reimagined, can be one of the most powerful forces for connection, prosperity, and innovation. In the words of His Excellency Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Minister of Tourism and Chairman of TOURISE, this was “more than an event… a platform for action”. The tone was set early: Riyadh was not inviting the world to network; it was inviting it to get to work.
From ideas to investments
If there was any doubt about the summit’s seriousness, it was dispelled by the numbers. Over the course of TOURISE, portfolio investments totalling USD 113 billion were announced, spanning the full breadth of the visitor economy. The commitments cut across sectors: next-generation hotel accommodation, luxury retail, integrated resort and experience-led developments, wellness and lifestyle concepts, talent development programmes, smart-destination infrastructure and AI-powered platforms.
Together, they sketched a future in which tourism is not a passive beneficiary of capital, but a driving logic for how cities and nations plan growth. Many of the commitments were Saudi-focused, underscoring the Kingdom’s belief that it can be both a leading global destination and a laboratory for new tourism models. Yet the framing was resolutely international: TOURISE was presented as a hub where global players come to align strategy, de-risk innovation, and turn ambition into bankable partnerships. “We are not here just to discuss ideas,” Al-Khateeb told delegates. “We are here to act.” The message was clear: the industry has spent years debating digital disruption, sustainability, and resilience. Riyadh’s proposition is to stop debating and start doing.
A turning point for luxury hospitality
For the luxury hospitality community, TOURISE’s most significant contribution may well be a document rather than a deal: the white paper New Codes of Luxury: Elevating the Hospitality Guest Experience with AI, launched on 12 November and produced by The Future Laboratory in partnership with Together Group and TOURISE. The report argues that luxury hospitality has reached a pivotal moment. High-value guests now expect seamless, intuitive experiences and authentic recognition everywhere they go – whether they are returning to a flagship suite or checking into a new resort for the first time. At the same time, brands are facing unprecedented competition, rising costs, and rapidly evolving guest mindsets.
Artificial intelligence, the paper suggests, is no longer a futuristic add-on but a critical component of competitive advantage. Yet the central argument is deliberately counter-intuitive: AI should be deployed not to replace human service, but to protect and elevate it. Drawing on research among high-value hotel guests in the UK and US, the authors note that 63% of respondents believe service should remain “human-first”. Guests are comfortable with AI when it empowers staff to spend more time with them, helps anticipate needs, or removes friction from their journey – but human connection remains non-negotiable.
Christopher Sanderson, co-founder of The Future Laboratory, summarises the shift succinctly: luxury is moving “from ownership to engagement, from transaction to relationship”. In that context, AI rooted in strong brand values and deployed with care can make service more anticipatory and emotionally intelligent, allowing every guest to feel known, valued, and at home. The report identifies four innovation frontiers where AI is reshaping expectations: curated discovery, seamless journeys, personalisation at scale, and augmented hospitality.
Agentic tourism: designing intelligent journeys
If the luxury white paper focused on the hotel level, a second TOURISE report zoomed out to the scale of destinations. Tourism’s AI Takeover: Reinventing Travel through Agentic Tourism, produced with Globant and strategic input from Kearney, introduces “Agentic Tourism” – an AI-powered operating model for entire ecosystems.
The premise is vivid: a traveller’s perfect day plans itself, rerouting around weather, adjusting to crowd levels, and connecting travellers with local experiences that match their interests. The model proposes five types of AI agents – Experience Maximizer, Operations Optimizer, Regeneration Guardian, Wellness Agent, and Opportunity Connector – designed to make destinations more adaptive, more sustainable, and more personalised. Crucially, these agents are governed by humans and shared standards, ensuring that the digital layer enhances, rather than diminishes, emotional resonance. The report positions Agentic Tourism not as a concept but as a strategic framework ready to be deployed, helping destinations reduce friction, increase satisfaction, and unlock new economic value.
Awards that celebrate destination excellence
The inaugural TOURISE Awards were another major highlight. Tokyo emerged as Best Overall Destination and also took home awards for Best Food & Culinary Destination and Best Entertainment Destination. New York was named Best Arts & Culture Destination, Ancash in Peru was awarded Best Adventure Destination, and Paris won Best Shopping Destination. The jury was made up of former leaders from Forbes Travel Guide, Michelin Guides, Tate Modern, Condé Nast, the British Fashion Council, and other global institutions – signalling the seriousness of the awards’ ambition. The gala dinner at the Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh, curated by chef Nawal Alkhalawi and featuring a performance by Loren Allred in a gown by Saudi designer Mashael Al Faris, reinforced the summit’s emphasis on cultural exchange and excellence.
“Tonight’s winners are not just places on a map, they are living, breathing inspirations that unite cultures and spark imaginations,” said His Excellency Ahmed Al-Khateeb. The Minister continued, “TOURISE is shaping the next 50 years of travel, and these destinations define what purposeful and transformative tourism can achieve. Each reflects what today’s traveler increasingly seeks; authenticity, creativity, and experiences that connect people to place and purpose. We take inspiration from their vision and ambition, as together we shape a tourism future that inspires progress, strengthens communities, and brings the world closer together.”
A global platform, not a passing event
The summit’s speaker line-up read like a who’s who of global influence: HE Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Ariane Gorin of Expedia, Luis Maroto of Amadeus, Sébastien Bazin of Accor, Lucia Penrod of Nikki Beach, Paul Griffiths of Dubai Airports, Ambassador Patricia Espinosa, Gloria Guevara of WTTC, Shaikha Nasser Al Nowais of UN Tourism, Harvey Goldsmith CBE, and leaders from Certares, Kayak.com, the European Travel Commission, Heathrow Airport, and more. What set TOURISE apart was not only its scale but its cross-sector nature: tourism mingled with investment, aviation with fashion, culture with AI, technology with sustainability. Sectors that rarely share a stage found themselves in active, sometimes counter-intuitive dialogue. The objective was not novelty – it was alignment. As Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO of the Saudi Tourism Authority, noted in his post-summit reflections, tourism remains a unifying global force, yet 80% of travellers still visit only 10% of the world’s destinations. TOURISE, he argued, is designed to change that by broadening opportunity, strengthening resilience, and spreading the economic and cultural benefits of tourism more widely.
A movement begins
The first edition of TOURISE closed with a clear message: this is not a one-off event. It is intended as an always-on platform, a year-round laboratory, and a global mechanism for turning ideas into action. With its combination of big ideas, serious investments, global participation, and a resolute focus on execution, Riyadh has positioned TOURISE as a catalyst for shaping tourism’s next 50 years. The movement has begun – and the world will be watching where it leads next.
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