The Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group.

The memorandum establishes the framework for a collaborative arrangement that will create a seamless visitor experience for Chinese tourists travelling to Saudi.

The agreement is part of STA’s strategy to employ the latest technology to deliver seamless traveller experiences.

Alibaba Cloud will also provide technical support to STA and help it promote Saudi as a tourist destination to travellers in the Chinese market.

All outbound travel from China is, however, currently banned in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“As Saudi continues to develop its leisure tourism offering for local, regional and international audiences, STA is building a digital infrastructure which can provide the destination with a competitive edge and visitors with the best possible experience,” said Fahd Hamidaddin, chief executive of STA.

“The recovery of the global tourism sector demands fresh thinking to overcome challenges exacerbated by the pandemic.

“By collaborating with Alibaba Cloud, we will break new ground in the regional tourism sector and position Saudi at the forefront of efforts to modernise the wider global tourism eco-system.”

Through the collaboration, Alibaba Cloud will deploy advanced, secure and reliable cloud services and technologies to create an improved digital experience for Chinese tourists traveling to Saudi and allow for the automation of services in content delivery, digital storage and digital processing.

Selina Yuan, vice president of Alibaba Group, said: “This collaboration brings together two key actors in the tourism sector who can set a new standard for providing a travel experience like no other.

“With Alibaba Cloud leading the digital transformation of tourism, and Saudi’s unique destinations, this is a combination which will help to re-invigorate the tourism sector.”

Image: VisitSaudi