The Saudi You Need To Know

A look of faint suspicion forced itself in the police officer’s eyes who asked me politely to show him an additional identity document. I instantly realized that the critical current situation we were in, and my national identity card in his hand, which was issued in the city of “Al Qurayyat” - while my family name reveals that I am from the 1,700 km away “Al Baha” city , - urged the man to be more certain. I handed him my driving license with the name of “Aseer” (1,000 km away south) engraved as the city of issuance. The officer looked at me again and I could see that suspicion started to intensify. The cities names of “Ha’il city” (650 km north) on my passport, “Jeddah city” (1,000 km west) on my family identity card and “Dammam city” (400 km east) on my business card announced a loud laugh from the police officer who allowed me to move ahead saying jokingly: “If these are forged, please do a better job!”

One special privilege I have enjoyed throughout my career has been the opportunity to tour the corners of this precious and spacious country, to come closer to its terrain, and to cherish the astonishing variety and richness of its peoples’ features, natures, customs, costumes, dialects, and cuisines. Such variety, however, has never eclipsed two innate staples in the hearts and souls of Saudis; the first one is their undefeatable determination to pursue their dreams and attain their goals. A rare thing I encountered with my fellow Saudis be they poor or rich, old or young is to give in and break. Even in the face of failure, they would rise with this indefatigable will to set new plans with their eyes observing their aspiration.

The second is hospitality, a common nature I have never missed among Saudis. I can never forget the traffic cop in “Bisha” who invited me to dinner after a thirty second interaction when I enquired about road directions, or the cheerful senior in “Baljurashi” who had the restaurant opened specially for me to have an on-the-house brunch meal, only to discover later that he was the celebrity “Khalofah”, owner of the well-known “Foul Khaloufah” restaurant in the flesh. Let me tell you about my friend from “Qatif” who enthusiastically escorted me through the allies of “Al Qudaih” to a delightful grilled meat dish in a local restaurant. Once my different features and dialect were recognized by the restaurant local customers, I was submerged by a wave of generosity where everyone was competing to pay for the gust’s orders first.

Generosity is, in fact, genetic in the Kingdom. In “Al Ahsa”, a warm reception was waiting for us from our work colleague’s father who insisted on welcoming us himself. Surrender to Saudi hospitality and generosity is not optional. Our comrade from “Ha’il” would not take no for an answer when he announced his “Shabbah”, a tradition in the region that is as old as time, where a man of the neighborhood opens his house to neighbors and strangers to gather over Arabian drinks and dishes. I was just taken notice of by a man in a mosque in “Riyadh” at Maghreb prayer in Ramadan. I only greeted him back to find myself sitting among his sons and relatives in his house. How do I tell you about young men of “Jeddah”? They have this enticing spirit of hospitality which warmly defuses a sense of instant comradery. You feel like you are old buddies before they even get to know your name. Fellows of “Jizan” consider their guest’s content a sought- after end.

I have always wished for the world to know the genuine Saudi away from the mainstream images representing him almost solely as the rich or the tourist. Even the way such images are portrayed in mainstream media is subject to dozens of political and economic filters. One comes across the outcome of such a filtration process to wonder if it is really the same country you live in that is being represented!!

This wish is what triggers my happiness as an eye witness to the amazing events taking place in the Kingdom as The Winter at Tantora Festival announced in “Al-Ula”, the International Golf Tournament held at King Abdullah Economic City and other events organized by the General Entertainment Authority and the General Culture Authority. Such events provide the perfect platform through which the real Saudi who is hospitable, open, ambitious and passionate for life and success is present.

The effort to reveal who and what we really are is nonetheless faced by two challenges:

· The first is to focus on the visitors’ experience. Each and every component of the event conveys a message which needs to be carefully designed. Welcoming guests in their own languages, the efficiency, and professionalism of accommodating and hosting guests at an event where the advancement of logistic services in the Kingdom is on display for instance, and even the label on a water bottle in a conference about localization of industries, to name just a few examples, communicate critical messages.

· The second challenge is to turn the Events industry into a source of revenue and a jobs creator. Events industry involves, and in fact necessitates, the intersection of several other industries as well such as audiovisuals, entertainment, film making, media and digital content, print and publication, and last but not least, hospitality industry. The nationalization of a successful Events industry will enrich and nourish other involved industries while creating full-time and part-time job opportunities across the Kingdom. Whenever there is a celebrated event held in Saudi Arabia, the sound of the need to establish a well-equipped national corporate able to professionally stand behind the event industry in the Kingdom becomes louder and louder.