Saudi youth views on hosting western music festivals: problematic performances and positive perceptions

ABSTRACT

This exploratory study distils the views of Saudis aged 18–30 on hosting Western music festivals as part of the “Saudi Seasons” tourism strategy. Although the strategy has typically focused on developing cultural heritage tourism or business events, several Western music festivals have also been introduced. These festivals included prominent international music artists across various genres and represented a major shift in the types of tourism experiences previously found in Saudi Arabia. Most festivals were primarily designed to attract younger Saudi cohorts and therefore this study explored the views of the Saudi youth through a series of focus groups. Focus group participants revealed that Western music festivals presented a range of paradoxical issues and highlighted the complexity of rapidly developing new tourism experiences. Thus, this study underscores the critical importance of carefully cultivating future Western music festivals so that they produce positive social impacts within the conservative cultural and religious context of the country.

KEYWORDS:

• Saudi Arabia
• music festivals
• social impacts
• tourism development
• Saudi seasons

Introduction

Saudi Arabia remains one of the world’s most culturally conservative countries (Al Alhareth et al., 2015; Alshammari et al., 2019), with numerous social restrictions applied to leisure and entertainment activities (Al-Mohmmad & Butler, 2021; Alshammari et al., 2019; Zamani-Farahani & Henderson, 2010). However, since early 2016, the Saudi government has sought to build new domestic and international tourism economies through its development of the Saudi Vision 2030 strategic framework (Saudi Vision, 2016). The Saudi Seasons initiative has included the introduction of a range of alternative entertainment products in Saudi Arabia, with the government targeting 100 million tourists per year by 2030, of which more than half were predicted to travel from overseas (Al-Mohmmad & Butler, 2021). The Vision was designed to not only position tourism as an important economic pillar in the transition towards a post-oil future (Al-sakkaf et al., 2020; Monshi & Scott, 2017) but to move away from tourism products that were predominantly focused on pilgrimage, such as the Hajj. To support these ambitious tourism development goals the Saudi government established the General Entertainment Authority (GEA) in May 2016, which amongst other pursuits, has sought to foster a “thriving and a sustainable entertainment sector that enriches the quality of life” (GEA, 2016).

In 2019, the GEA introduced a series of festivals and events to showcase eleven different host cities or regions through various forms of tourism (Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia, 2019), although the emergence of COVID-19 initially inhibited the rollout of several events. Whilst most of these festivals and events have focused on promoting Saudi culture and heritage, a smaller number of Western festivals and events were also developed that included Western sports or music. Western music events have included an eclectic array of genres, including electronic and hip-hop music via the MDL Beast festival, K-pop acts, and mainstream pop concerts offered by artists such as Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson. This shift, posit Alshammari and Kim (2019), underscored the Saudi government’s desire to broaden the country’s appeal to both domestic and international tourists and to move away from perceptions of Saudi Arabia as an almost exclusively religious tourism destination. Since its inception, the GEA has now issued almost 4,000 tourism and entertainment business licences and permits – many of which are in partnership with foreign entertainment companies such as Live Nation Entertainment – and has generated approximately US$266.6 m in revenue (GEA, 2024)

However, although various media outlets have reported on the economic successes of the Saudi Seasons, including several of its Western music festivals, little has been reported on the views and experiences of the host population, either as community members or as domestic tourists (see Al-Mohmmad & Butler, 2021). When considering that music festivals can adversely impact on host communities (Pavluković et al., 2017; Pavluković et al., 2020), there have been growing calls to explore different local perspectives instigated by tourism development due to the velocity at which Saudi host communities have come into contact with new international tourist cohorts (see Al-Mohmmad & Butler, 2021; Al-Mohmmad & Butler, 2021). Indeed, although tourism development is positioned as an important element of Saudi Arabia’s economic transition, the strategy is additionally structured around a desire to create a “vibrant society” and foster a heightened sense of national pride that underscores “the importance of Saudi’s position, culture and heritage in the Islamic world” (Madani, 2022, p. 2). How these objectives align with the simultaneous introduction of Western festivals remains largely uninterrogated. Thus, this study is novel in its intention to explore the emergence of new “forms” of tourism in the context of Saudi Arabia and to identify how these forms of tourism have so far influenced or shaped the views of host communities. This study is also timely when considering that the Saudi government seeks to implement rapid tourism growth trajectories that will be underpinned by the further inclusion of Western cultural, music, and sporting events or festivals for the foreseeable future (Visit Saudi, 2023).

Hosting music festivals and social impacts

Music festivals continue to be a growing sector in the tourism industry and can produce myriad impacts on host communities (Getz & Page, 2016; Hudson et al., 2015; Pavluković et al., 2017; Pavluković et al., 2020). Music festivals typically involve a diverse range of performers or genres and may be organized primarily to initiate economic impacts due to their ability to attract new visitors or tourism markets (Getz & Page, 2016), investors (Yolal et al., 2016), and provide employment opportunities (Alahmadi et al., 2022; Monshi & Scott, 2017). However, Pavluković et al. (2017) posited that a festival's success should not only be measured by its economic contributions but also by its social, cultural, and environmental impacts and that increasing emphasis should be placed on how local communities perceive and experience these festivals or events. In response, there has been an amplification of interest in the study of festivals, particularly the social impacts of festivals on host communities (Han et al., 2017; Pavluković et al., 2017; Pavluković et al., 2020; Yozukmaz et al., 2020).

Festivals can act as important platforms that can foster cultural exchange and understanding between host communities and tourists (Besculides et al., 2002), especially as music may transcend social and cultural differences and can be appreciated by anyone, irrespective of their background (Bowen & Daniels, 2005). Festivals may also provide citizens with a renewed sense of pride and contribute to community cohesion (Gursoy et al., 2004) or play an important role in developing positive destination image (Duarte et al., 2018; Hudson et al., 2015; Simeon & Buonincontri, 2011; Yürük et al., 2017). Moreover, according to Arcodia and Whitford (2006), festivals can provide opportunities for locals to develop new skills or capacities through volunteering and training (Arcodia & Whitford, 2006). For attendees, including those from host populations, music festivals may enhance the social wellbeing of participants and foster personal growth (Alonso-Vazquez et al., 2019), cultivate new expressions of self-identity (Ballantyne et al., 2014; Hargreaves et al., 2002), and enable social connections to be formed or strengthened through shared experiences (Pavluković et al., 2017; Yürük et al., 2017; Wu et al., 2020).

Nonetheless, as Schlenker et al. (2005) observed, the social impacts of hosting festivals and events must be carefully observed, particularly as the host community’s support is often of critical importance to their long-term success and viability. For example, it has been argued that there are several ways in which festivals can produce negative social impacts including:

changes in community values and patterns, environmental damage and litter, higher prices of basic services, resident exodus, interruption of normal business, noise, and crowds, unsafe sexual behaviours, use of alcohol and drugs, conflicts with festivalgoers, xenophobia, commodification and exploitation of culture and traditional ways of life. (Pavluković et al., 2017, p. 43)

Similarly, Han et al. (2017, p. 1157) add that the impacts of festivals should not be underestimated and there is an increasing need to comprehensively distil how they influence and affect host communities as they evolve. Indeed, music festivals can trigger anti-social behaviours among participants, including the use of drugs and the excessive use of alcohol that may compromise the local community's support (Dilkes-Frayne, 2016; Jaensch et al., 2018; Pavluković et al., 2017; Yürük et al., 2017). These issues are even more problematic in the context of Islamic countries, like Saudi Arabia, where religious laws prohibit or heavily restrict the consumption of these substances (Michalak & Trocki, 2006).

In short, it is evident that there is a paucity of research that has explored either the impacts of new forms of tourism in Saudi Arabia or festivals and events that showcase Western cultures and music. As Lashua et al. (2014, p. 4) remind us, a Western hegemony of popular music persists, and therefore, “music in its plural forms is inevitably bound up within networks of power relations and the maintenance, reproduction, and rejection of those relations”. Music, they add, may also provoke “resistance, fear, and conservative retrenchment” and it is therefore critical that we now explore how Western music festivals influence and affect host communities that, until very recently, have not been exposed to such platforms and opportunity. Indeed, as noted by Tonga Uriarte et al. (2019, p. 818), festivals may act as “vehicles for the mobilization and integration of local and global communities” that can support cross-cultural understanding. However, they can also expose host communities to different behaviours and attitudes that are neither consistent nor compatible with their values and worldviews (see Yozukmaz et al., 2020).

Methodology

Research design

This study utilized focus groups to acquire qualitative materials on the attitudes, feelings, beliefs, and experiences of Saudi youths towards Western music events hosted in Saudi Arabia as part of the Saudi Seasons initiative. If structured effectively, Kreuger and Casey (2009, p. 2) state that focus groups can be instrumental in enabling participants to discuss themes and topics in a permissive, nonthreatening atmosphere, and also produce conservations that may organically occur as part of everyday life (Hollander, 2004). In our study, following the recommendations of Belzile and Öberg (2012, p. 462), we attempted to construct focus group environments that enabled “a dynamic social process” and allowed participants to collectively construct narratives around the impacts of the Saudi Seasons, primarily with regard to Western music festivals and events. Moreover, as noted by Ryan et al. (2014, p. 331), focus groups can allow participants to share “the richness of their social world” and enable knowledge or information to be constructed “from shared ideas, opinions, beliefs, experiences, and actions”. Nonetheless, as argued by Acocella (2012), we acknowledged that the presence of others in a focus group can inhibit a participant’s willingness to share ideas openly or make them susceptible to offer socially acceptable responses. Indeed, due to the complexities of Saudi culture that can include strict laws on engagements with females or the mixing of genders in social environments, the research team opted to create focus groups that were comprised of participants of a similar social position (i.e. all were of the similar age, the same gender, and had/were attending University).

We specifically targeted University students on the basis that recent tertiary education policies in Saudi Arabia have been increasingly influenced by a need to acknowledge “the aspirations of the people, especially the youth”, that have in turn led to the development of “new ideas” and alternative viewpoints within Saudi society to be considered (Quamar & Quamar, 2021, p. 31). The recruitment of focus group participants was undertaken via social media communications targeting Saudi University groups and organizations, and through snowball sampling techniques especially with regard to the recruitment of Saudi females. A total of 31 tertiary educated male and female Saudi citizens aged between 18–30 volunteered to participate in the study. Each participant was provided with a consent form reaffirming that the project had ethics approval from the Social and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee at the authors’ University and that all participants would remain anonymous in any published materials. Participants were also reminded of their rights to not answer questions they were uncomfortable with and to withdraw from the research project at any stage.

Lastly, the focus group facilitator, and co-author of this paper, provided each participant with a Code of Ethics. The Code of Ethics document clearly established the researcher’s role as an impartial and objective actor and also underscored how the research process would be conducted with fairness and without judgement (Dawson, 2019). The participants were divided into one of seven groups with each group comprising of 4–5 people. Three focus groups were established for female participants (a total of 13 participants were recruited) and four focus groups were established for male participants (a total of 18 participants were recruited). The focus groups were then conducted between September 2021 and January 2022.

Data analysis

All focus groups were conducted in Arabic before being translated to English. As per the recommendations of Nowell et al. (2017), six steps were employed for the data analysis phase. First, all members of the research team read through the focus group transcripts to familiarize themselves with the materials acquired before undertaking an initial coding phase of the textual materials in NVIVO. The research team then identified emergent themes and further refined the codes before establishing a consensus on the meanings attributed to the qualitative materials. As a final step, the researchers then identified the key narratives and themes discussed during the focus groups and collectively selected participant excerpts that best represented key empirical patterns. For ease of reference in this paper, each participant was then assigned a unique participant number and are thus referred to as P# (along with their age group) when identified in our findings. Table 1 also provides an overview of the participants’ demographic profiles, including whether they had previously travelled overseas.

Table 1. Overview of study participants.

Participant #	Gender	Age	Previous experience of overseas travel
1	Female	25–30	Yes
2	Male	25–30	Yes
3	Male	25–30	Yes
4	Female	25–30	Yes
5	Female	25–30	Yes
6	Male	25–30	Yes
7	Male	25–30	Yes
8	Male	25–30	Yes
9	Male	25–30	Yes
10	Female	18–24	Yes
11	Female	25–30	Yes
12	Male	25–30	Yes
13	Male	25–30	Yes
14	Female	25–30	Yes
15	Male	18–24	Yes
16	Female	25–30	Yes
17	Female	25–30	No
18	Female	25–30	Yes
19	Male	18–24	Yes
20	Female	18–24	No
21	Male	18–24	No
22	Female	18–24	No
23	Male	18–24	No
24	Male	18–24	No
25	Male	18–24	Yes
26	Male	25–30	No
27	Male	18–24	No
28	Female	25–30	No
29	Female	25–30	No
30	Male	25–30	No
31	Female	18–24	No

Findings

It was evident from our focus groups sessions that the establishment of international music festivals in Saudi Arabia had produced mixed feelings with respect to their impact and appropriateness in the cultural and religious context of the country. We observed no obvious relationships between particular viewpoints and gender or age group (we categorized participants in to two brackets for further nuance: 18–24 and 25-30), although we noted that those situated in the 25–30 age range were slightly more likely to be in favour of hosting Western music festivals in the future. Whilst there was no strong relationship between certain viewpoints and previous international travel experience, curiously we did observe that the majority of participants who expressed major reservations about hosting Western music festivals had travelled overseas, including to multiple Western countries in some instances.

In terms of positive impacts, it was argued that by hosting Western music events, negative perceptions of Saudi Arabia could be diluted by showcasing the country in a different light and as a more progressive and tolerant society. Moreover, it was posited that Western music festivals could increase local contact with international visitors and amplify Saudis’ understanding of different cultures at a time when the country increasingly seeks to encourage international tourism. In short, music festivals were positioned as potential catalysts in enabling host communities to mix with and – learn from – international tourists that hailed from contrasting cultures and backgrounds.

Nonetheless, several concerns were raised that typically focused on the behaviours and performances of not only the artists at Western music festivals but Saudi attendees – primarily younger demographic groups that mirrored those that formed our focus group participants. Here, it was argued that performances embedded within certain Western music festivals were “problematic” as they exposed young Saudis to behaviours and acts that were not compatible with cultural or religious norms. The issues included inappropriate onstage acts, the mixing of males and females in public spaces, and the consumption of drugs and alcohol which have been reported as prevalent in similar events elsewhere (See McCrae et al., 2019). In short, Western music festivals were paradoxical in that they were seen to be important vehicles in positively repositioning international visitor perceptions of Saudia Arabia but were also likely to expose young Saudis to cultural performances and experiences that were inconsistent with Saudi values.

Problematic performances

When participants were asked to discuss their views on the establishment of Western music festivals in Saudi Arabia, the majority stated that they were largely supportive of “mainstream” pop music events based on either personal experiences or through stories relayed from friends and relatives who had attended. However, several focus group conversations quickly shifted to discussion on electronic or house music genre events such as Soundstorm MDL Beast, an electronic dance music festival held in Jeddah that had received substantial criticism in some sections of the Saudi media. The MDL Beast festival raised a number of concerns amongst participants in almost all focus groups, with conversations typically involving the mixing of males and females in public spaces, inappropriate dress, and observations of Saudis consuming drugs and alcohol. The latter topic was a key focal point, especially as many participants reported that they had never experienced or witnessed such behaviours in the country before. Thus, participant performances were deemed to be inappropriate or “problematic” in the cultural and religious context of Saudi Arabia, and were demonstrated via the following viewpoints:

When I went to the MDL Beast event in Jeddah, I saw things that did not represent Saudi Arabia, such as inappropriate clothing that was not consistent with the culture of Saudi society … many women did not wear the Saudi abaya [a robe-type garment that covers the entire body beyond the face, hands and feet]. I was very shocked and did not feel that I was in Saudi Arabia … these [types of] foreign music events are not appropriate [for Saudi Arabia] and may lead to a change in our people's behaviour … I think these international music festivals may drive them to behave like Westerners (P1, Female, 25-34).

I will not attend Western music events in the future because of the bad things that occurred … these were caused by musical events such as MDL Beast … they included the use of drugs and alcohol at the event … and the organisers also ignored these behaviours. (P12, Male, 25-34)

As the consumption of alcohol and illegal substances in Saudi Arabia is prohibited, most participants revealed that they had never seen anyone consume them in private settings, let alone public ones. Based on personal experiences as attendees or via the stories shared, many participants argued that there was a danger that the continuation of these forms of music festivals could impact negatively on community sentiment and support, as also noted in studies by Yürük et al. (2017) and Pavluković et al. (2017). Moreover, several participants mentioned that the behaviour of DJs and performers were also of substantial concern:

I think we need to host [international] festivals but the artists must be chosen carefully … some of the behaviours of foreign artists in the Western music events were inconsistent with the culture of the community … one of the artists was carrying a woman's bra and waving it to the audience at a concert he was performing at … I see this behaviour as disrespectful to the culture of Saudi Arabia. (P24, Male, 18-24)

I support establishing international events in Saudi Arabia but not foreign music festivals … these events do not represent our culture … also, foreign artists in these events were behaving inappropriately … many [on social media] said that this behaviour was incompatible with the customs and traditions of the Saudi people. (P27, Male, 18-24)

In the longer term, numerous participants expressed their concerns with respect to the ways some Western music events could influence the behaviours of the local community, especially younger cross-sections of Saudi society who they considered “vulnerable to change” and more likely to imitate them by adopting similar clothing, hairstyles, and social behaviours more consistent with the West:

I worry that the Saudi fans who watch Western artists will imitate them in behaviour and by wearing similar clothes … I think that these events have already changed the culture for some … for example, a lot of people have become more open to the idea of mixing between men and women. (P6, Male, 25-34)

[Western] music festivals may affect the next generation … especially from a religious or cultural point of view … if a young man sees a man and a girl dancing together during these music events, he thinks that this is our culture … this is not Saudi culture and we should not accept this behaviour (P11, Female, 25-34).

Interestingly, the majority of participants who held negative views towards Saudi Arabia hosting Western music festivals had either travelled or studied overseas, including to several Western countries. Most stated that they had encountered predominantly positive cultural tourism experiences when visiting Western countries but equally maintained that these experiences – especially the mixing of men and women, as well as more liberal attitudes towards certain public behaviours and activities – were fundamentally incompatible with daily life back home. Thus, these experiences had, to some extent, served as important reminders as to how Western and Saudi culture were highly contrasting and that the two should remain distinctly separate.

Whilst many have posited that cultural contact and engagements with different cultures can positively influence future travel decisions (see Chen & Rahman, 2018; Kim et al., 2012; Tung & Ritchie, 2011) our observations offer a potentially alternative perspective. Indeed, although our observations were not entirely conclusive, they still offer unique perspectives as to how positive experiences of different cultures can potentially foster a degree of apprehension with respect to the applicability and acceptability of those cultures in the context of home.

Nevertheless, whilst some participants believed that the continuation of these festival could lead to a change in the culture and behaviour of Saudi Society, and younger Saudis’ religious beliefs, others acknowledged that there would be likely both positive and negative outcomes if the Saudi Seasons continued to host Western music festivals in the future:

I think any foreign [tourist] activity will change our culture both positively and negatively … these events could encourage young people to abandon their culture including the [Western] clothes they wear … I think that their values and principles may change due to these events, especially as young people are more vulnerable to change … however, being exposed to different cultures may be of value to the host community too [via exposure to different perspectives and worldviews]. (P16, Female, 25-34)

The findings reveal the conflicting opinions regarding whether Wester music festivals will influence the culture of Saudi Society over time. As such, Western music festival organizers must consider the opinions of the local community in the future development of new forms of tourism, particularly as participants in this study identified a number of concerns that could weaken community support. As Kim and Walker (2012) and Kim et al. (2012) note, to build and maintain support, event planners must first understand and acknowledge locals’ perceptions of both the positive and negative aspects of festivals to ensure that they do not become detrimental to the needs of host communities (see Sharpley, 2014; Gursoy et al., 2004). It was evident that similar forms of communication between organizers and local communities – as well as other relevant stakeholders – are now required in the context of cities that will host music festivals and events in future Saudi Seasons (see Marzuki et al., 2023).

Positive perceptions

Although several concerns were raised in our focus group sessions, the majority of participants also acknowledged that hosting Western music events and festivals could lead to beneficial outcomes. Indeed, most participants agreed that hosting international music festivals could yield positive impacts with respect to international tourists’ perceptions of Saudi Arabia:

Social media and international news sources have shown a negative image of Saudi Arabia in the past … So, developing these festivals may [positively] change the image of Saudi Arabia … I believe that these events will improve our reputation and change the [negative] stereotypes. (P3, Male, 25-30)

Hosting these events will change the stereotypes of Saudi Arabia … the majority of people in Western countries think that Saudi Arabia is only a desert and that there is nothing for tourists to do … after these events have gained greater [international] publicity, some people will choose to travel to Saudi Arabia and then learn about the true culture of Saudi society. (P9, Male, 25-34)

These observations align with those of Pavluković et al. (2017) who noted that festivals may not only strengthen social and cultural identities but also foster and build positive destination images. Furthermore, festivals and events can help establish the formation of a positive community image and serve as catalysts for greater socioeconomic growth, drawing in more tourists, investors, and sponsors (Duarte et al., 2018; Yolal et al., 2016). Indeed, it was posited that Western music festivals could elicit positive social change and amplify cultural awareness amongst younger Saudis towards the outside world. Thus, several participants mentioned that music festivals could act as important cultural incubators that enabled Saudis to engage with people from diverse countries and additionally learn from them:

We [Saudis] need to meet with other cultures, and these Western [tourist] activities will allow us to mix with different people from different countries of the world … I believe that these events may contribute to our society's ideas and understanding [of alternative cultural viewpoints] … These events may also help the Saudi community learn other languages (P17, Female, 18-24).

Through our engagement with other cultures, the local community's understanding [of others] will develop and their knowledge of other languages will grow … through our mixing with other cultures I think we will accept each other’s religious and cultural differences (P28, Female, 25-34).

Even if we mix Saudi culture with foreign cultures, our culture will not change negatively … I believe that these events will develop the ideas of Saudi people through engaging with other societies. (P22, Female, 18-24).

Furthermore, it was suggested that the mixing of Saudis with international tourists would help support the latter’s understanding and acceptance of their religious and cultural differences:

[these festivals] will increase [international tourists’] awareness of our community and culture and this will make them more likely to accept the views of our society. (P28, Female, 25-34)

These findings were consisted with those of Besculides et al. (2002) who noted that festivals could foster cultural exchange and an increased understanding between residents and visitors that amplified tolerance and understanding of the host culture in particular. Therefore, it was suggested that future music festivals should also consider how Saudi culture could be embedded into “hybrid” Saudi-Western music festivals. This approach, it was argued by some, could enhance the host communities’ pride, and garner greater support by shedding light not just on Western music artists but local artists too. As Hargreaves et al. (2002) suggest, people can use music to not only build and express their unique identities and their worldviews, but to establish commonalities and mutual understanding. In addition, the collaborative nature of shared or hybrid cultural activities could also help mitigate some of the initial concerns or suspicions host communities had raised about the longer-term impacts of Western festivals.

In short, it was argued that Western festivals have so far presented paradoxical impacts. It was noted that Western festivals could serve as importation vehicles in establishing cross-cultural communication and mutual respect between international tourists from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds and local Saudi communities. Moreover, it was suggested that festivals may provide opportunities for international tourists to gain new perspectives of Saudi culture and heighten their understanding of local traditions, beliefs, and worldviews. However, the caveat underpinning these views was structured around the type of music event or festival and it must be acknowledged that “Western music festivals” are not heterogenous, nor are they necessarily platforms for Western counterculture movements to manifest that disrupt or corrupt participants and residents alike (see Wright, 2020). Indeed, whilst it was posited that Western music festivals focusing on “mainstream” popular music could be utilized as powerful mechanisms in transforming international tourist perceptions of Saudi Arabia, certain music festivals – and the attendee and artist performances they produced – could ultimately lead to community resistance towards the further development of Western festivals and events in the future.

Conclusions

This exploratory study has shed important light on the initial impacts of hosting Western music festivals in Saudi Arabia via the Saudi Seasons strategy. As distilled in our findings, several participants held reservations with respect to the further continuation of certain music events that they felt were largely incompatible within the context of Saudi Arabia’s culture and religious position. However, despite these concerns, others posited that Western music festivals were potentially important vehicles in shifting perceptions of Saudi Arabia amongst international tourists. In addition, it was suggested that Western music events could perform as important incubators for Saudis and foreigners to interact and better understand their respective cultural and religious views and standpoints.

In summary, this study seeks to position itself as a catalyst for further research into the impacts of rapid international tourism development strategies in Saudia Arabia. In particular, this study has sought to highlight the social impacts of hosting Western music festivals in Saudi destinations that have, until recently, received limited exposure to international tourists beyond those on religious pilgrimage. Echoing the recommendations of Wijesinghe and Mura (2018), we sought to share the knowledge and experiences of Asian scholars located in non-Western settings to challenge longstanding beliefs that Western knowledge remains “universal”, especially with respect to academic discourse on festivals and events. When considering the rapid trajectories of tourism development in Saudi Arabia, we argue that there is an increasingly critical need to explore the impacts of tourism from a variety of different stakeholder perspectives, notably local communities that have so far remained underrepresented in similar studies situated in the country.

As a final remark, we also acknowledge several study limitations. First, whilst our focus groups were productive in producing a rich seam of qualitative materials, we accept that they can also inhibit the sharing of particular viewpoints – particularly in settings like Saudi Arabia – if they are deemed to be in violation of a group’s “norms of acceptable attitudes or perceptions” (Kruger et al., 2019, p. 245). Second, we posit that future studies must consider wider demographic profiles of those that reside within the category of “Saudi youths”, including participants that are not tertiary educated and participants from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. In doing so, this may ensure that future tourism development discourse includes stakeholders that face limited opportunities to share their views and opinions on tourism policy trajectories (see Alahmadi et al., 2022). In closing we now call for further studies to build on our initial observations and to explore how positive overseas cultural experiences may potentially lead to opposition with respect to the development of similar cultural experiences back home.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).