Al-Kashtah.. A Forgotten Tourist Treasure!

22 July 2026 - 00:16 | Last updated 22 July 2026 - 00:16

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Jubair Al-Jubair

In the years of middle and high school, the 'school trip' was the talk of the entire neighborhood.. because it was the biggest annual event that students eagerly awaited before packing bags and preparing luggage to leave Riyadh heading to the Eastern Province.

We would spend three days on that trip, sharing the preparations by dividing roles.. but what I want to point out here is the accommodation, which was either in youth hostels or in the classrooms of a school.

We used to think those trips were just for recreation, but after we grew up, it became clear to us that they were practical trips to refine personality, enhance reliability and discipline, and build a deep and spontaneous relationship with the environment and society.

But.. with the passage of time and the acceleration of life events in that era, these activities suddenly stopped or decreased significantly! Schools closed their doors to students, with no group trips, no sports competitions like the school league, no volunteer community activities like Traffic Week, Tree Week, or scouting, and no cultural activities outside the school walls.

In contrast, there were 'Kashtha' trips of work colleagues or young people either to the desert or sea beaches, which were done by individual, unorganized effort.. And like their predecessors, today's 'kashtha' trips are almost nonexistent! But the irony in our current work reality is that the 'passion for group travel' is not dead! We often see initiatives organized by some work colleagues to spend short vacations together here and there, many of which are outside the Kingdom.

And since I mentioned outside the Kingdom, it raised my question about the insistence of some government entities on rewarding employees with training courses and workshops abroad! I see in this a unique opportunity that could be seized, especially if we could attract trainees from abroad! Motivating the employee must be coupled with localizing spending and boosting the local product by supporting local small and medium enterprises such as rural inns, agricultural tourism farms, caravans, and transport and guiding services, thereby moving the wheel of development in our new destinations.. So what is preventing us from holding a workshop in AlUla or a training course in Asir, or a board meeting in one of the royal reserves!

What prompted me to recall these memories is the catalysts of the unprecedented tourism renaissance we are experiencing today, diverse and widespread across the Kingdom's regions, which makes us in dire need of reviving the culture of 'organized group trips' not only at the school level but beyond to government entities and private sector institutions with a modern vision and new capabilities that expand the targets of Vision 2030 and support the economies of host cities.

In addition to the economic impact, these trips play a vital role in enhancing the 'Quality of Life' program and the public health of both employees and students.. Leaving the office and school environment for a renewed outlet reduces burnout and study pressure.

On the administrative side, joint trips contribute to building social capital within the work organization.. when leaders mix with their employees at an informal communication table that dissolves barriers and administrative formality.

Also, distributing participants in interactive or competitive activities creates shared memories and reveals people's potentials and energies that traditional working hours do not show, which helps raise the level of job attachment and productivity upon return.

To turn this idea into a sustainable reality, government entities, companies, and universities must adopt 'incentive tourism and group trips,' summarized as a 'Kashtha' service as an organized institutional policy that can be achieved through strategic partnerships with the Ministry of Tourism to provide discounted travel packages for groups, and to rehabilitate and develop economic guest houses and farms to attract tourist groups with an attractive competitive character, while including these activities as a standard criterion within the indicators of distinguished work and study environments.

Reviving group trips at work and school is a smart convergence between human development and place development, as they are not only capable of keeping our wealth within our homeland, but will also create a vibrant tourist community ready to host thousands of tourists and visitors.. for example, the 2034 World Cup qualifiers.

We know that the compass has already pointed towards domestic tourism, but we need to create new incentives and involve relevant entities such as the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, the Ministry of Education, and the Chambers of Commerce.. The future of the nation's tourism is built with a team spirit.