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Kiram
Client: Saudi Tourism Authority
Sector:
Duration: 9 months
Industry: Tourism
Overview
Challenge
To empower Saudi Arabia's tourism sector service providers with the knowledge, skills, and tools to conquer a new era of tourism.
Outcome
A two-part bootcamp that brought together tourism service providers from various backgrounds to help accelerate and expand their expertise in the ever-changing sector.
Impact
A combination of 110 new tourism package ideas and models were delivered by the 110 participants (out of 173) who made it to the second round of the bootcamp. These participants now have the ability to innovate for the sector in the long-run, while also catering to the sector's latest approaches.
Context
Saudi Arabia has been vastly extending its tourism horizons as part of its Vision 2030 economic and social transformation efforts. During 2021 alone, the Kingdom relaunched its Saudi Seasons events across most of the country's major cities — its latest, the Winter Season, was launched by the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) and filled with over 300 packages and experiences.
During its first month, Riyadh Season alone brought in 3 million local, regional, and international tourists. The Kingdom's Tourism Development Fund also deployed $533 million on tourism projects worth $1.6 billion — with the rest financed by the private sector.
However, after an almost two-year hiatus, tourism returned in full force — which could have made tourism service providers just a tad rusty. To help these experts get back on track, the Saudi Tourism Authority, in collaboration with TAMx, designed the two-part tourism sector bootcamp Kiram in 2021.
TAM's Approach
The Kiram bootcamp was structured in two progressive stages, designed to build knowledge and then apply it through hands-on innovation:
Part 1 — Kiram Basics (Virtual Bootcamp)
A 10-hour virtual and interactive training session connecting 173 participants with 3 TAMx innovation experts and 5 local tourism industry specialists — covering strategy, marketing, hospitality, and tour guiding. At the end, 132 participants submitted their own ideas for enhanced tourism experiences and were invited to the next stage.
Part 2 — Kiram Hackathon (In-Person)
110 participants advanced to the Hackathon, which added one-on-one and group coaching sessions. Three TAMx innovation experts, four tourism specialists, and eight facilitators with diverse training and coaching backgrounds guided 10-minute creativity sessions (for logo design and content) and group sessions for marketing, logistics, and business model innovation.
"Thank you Kiram for the development, support, and brainstorming of creative outputs. Thank you Saudi Tourism Authority for the mighty tourism program, creative ideas, and linking creators to a network of relationships for fruitful cooperation."
— Areej Al AbdulKader, Kiram participant
What We Delivered
- A two-part structured bootcamp covering virtual training and in-person hackathon formats.
- Hands-on exercises using tools for experience design, story design, and financial cost models.
- One-on-one coaching sessions for logo design and content enhancement.
- Group coaching sessions covering marketing, logistics, and business model innovation.
- Showcase of new tourism package models at the conclusion of the hackathon.
- Certificates of completion awarded to all finishing participants.
Impact at a Glance
173
participants joined Kiram Basics
132
tourism experience ideas submitted after Basics
110
participants advanced to Kiram Hackathon
110
new tourism package models developed
8
specialist facilitators with diverse coaching backgrounds
10h
of virtual interactive training in Kiram Basics
Lasting Value Created
Kiram equipped Saudi tourism service providers with practical tools, industry knowledge, and innovation capabilities to thrive in a rapidly evolving sector. By combining virtual and in-person learning, the program fostered a new generation of empowered tourism professionals capable of designing and delivering world-class experiences — directly supporting Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 goals for tourism growth and economic diversification.