The Impact of Sustainable Infrastructure Development and Green Innovation on the Tourism Sector of KSA: The Role of Vision 2030 as an Intervening Variable
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65080/ajbmss.v1i2.21Keywords:
Sustainable infrastructure, green innovation, vision 2030, united nations SDG 9, tourism, Saudi ArabiaAbstract
Introduction: The study evaluated sustainable infrastructure development and green innovation principles in tourism. It analysed Vision 2030's position in mediating the relationship between sustainability and tourism and green innovation and tourism in the context of Saudi Arabia.
Methodology: The research adopts a quantitative approach and collects primary data applying the Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) technique. The research collected primary data from 249 respondents representing the Saudi Arabian tourism sector. The data was collected through a structured survey questionnaire based on a 5-point Likert scale. The respondents were employees of Development Company and Red Sea Global.
Results: The findings revealed that sustainability integration in tourism is crucial for long-term growth, competitiveness, and environmental protection. The mediation test of the study confirmed that Vision 2030 strongly mediates the relationships between green innovation and tourism, as well as sustainable infrastructure development and tourism. In particular, Vision 2030 serves as a partial mediating variable in strengthening the effect of sustainability on tourism development (β = 0.304; p-value = 0.000), as well as the influence of green innovation (e.g., β = 0.299, p = 0.000) on tourism growth. These findings highlight Vision 2030's central position in fostering sustainable tourism and propelling green innovation in Saudi Arabia.
Conclusion: The research contributes to the academic understanding of how national policies like Vision 2030 influence sustainable development in the tourism industry. It offers a comprehensive analysis of green innovation's role in tourism, an area underexplored in the context of Saudi Arabia. It provides actionable recommendations for industry stakeholders to enhance sustainability in tourism practices. This research is solely focused on the geographical region of Saudi Arabia, particularly the tourism sector. The data comes from only two organisations.
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