Business Reporter BrandVoice: Setting The Pace In Regenerative Tourism

Business Reporter BrandVoice: Setting The Pace In Regenerative Tourism

Red Sea is a Business Reporter client.

By Jeremy Swinfen-Green for The Red Sea Development Company

Tourism is an important part of the world's economy and supports more than 300 million jobs, but it is often blamed for harming the environment and impacting local communities. It doesn't have to be like that. Jeremy Swinfen Green talks to John Pagano, CEO of The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC), the developer behind one of the world's ambitious and regenerative tourism projects – The Red Sea Project – about a very different sort of destination in Saudi Arabia.

The Red Sea Development Company

John Pagano: We want The Red Sea Project to be a very different tourist destination. We have an area a bit smaller than Belgium, a very beautiful and unique space with mountains, canyons, sand dunes, and even volcanoes. The jewel in the crown is an archipelago of 90 islands with thriving coral reefs, white sandy beaches. And it's all untouched.

From the start we decided to set new standards in sustainability. Our goal wasn't just to maintain the status quo, it was to enhance the conservation value by 30 per cent. And that's what we believe we will achieve over the next couple