Saudi Arabia, which was previously not open to leisure tourism before September 2019, set an ambitious goal of reaching 100M visitors by 2030. Our task was not only to reshape the story of the nation, but to also explain where to go, what to do, and make it informative and compelling enough to inspire action.

Our goals were to enhance the perception of Saudi Arabia as a destination, increase its overall attractiveness, and educate potential tourists about the worthwhile destinations and activities the country had to offer. Although Saudi Arabia wasn't yet on many travel bucket lists, it was consistently making headlines in the world of football. Every news outlet was abuzz with discussions about major football transfers to the Saudi league. At that time, the transfer speculation was predominantly centered around the world’s biggest football player – Messi – and the possibility of Saudi becoming his next destination.

The Unauthorized Trip

We dared to invite Messi to Saudi on May 1st - a date when he was scheduled for his Paris Saint-Germain training, and news speculation about moving to a Saudi club was rife. We anticipated the global conversation his absence from training would generate, especially with him being in Saudi instead of Paris.

Messi's acceptance of our invite triggered a weeklong PR frenzy. Our documentation of his trip not only provided evidence for the world’s press to catch him red-handed enjoying Saudi’s tourist allure, it also sparked a worldwide conversation across global media and fan communities alike. Whenever Messi shared images from a different Saudi destination, it prompted global news outlets to broadcast them while highlighting any new disciplinary proceedings updates from his club. So, with the story reaching news channels all over the world, it looked like the press was running a weeklong promotion of his journey

With a goal of 100 million visits by 2030, we had a long-term objective of changing the perception of travel in the country on a global scale. We needed the world to start talking about what it’s like to travel to Saudi, so we needed massive reach across the globe.

While we anticipated that the trip would garner substantial PR coverage, aligning with a wider conversation meant we can get the whole world talking. With the impending transfer season, and amidst speculations about Messi potentially moving to Saudi, we strategically extended our invitation to him during this crucial time.

Consequently, what might have been a few sponsored posts and regular content evolved into speculation surrounding the possibility of the biggest move in global football transfer history, creating an unprecedented PR frenzy across the globe. This strategic timing ensured that all eyes were on our trip.

The campaign primarily centered around photography of Messi’s trip shared through Instagram and press releases to promote his journey. Initially, our focus was on optimizing reach to spread the message far and wide to markets where the reaction was the strongest. However, due to the strategic timing of his visit, most of the material gained traction with global news outlets and sports pages, generating many discussions about Messi's trip in Saudi.

One audacious media stunt turned a regular visit into FREE non-stop front-page global news. Renowned news channels and top-tier global outlets, including CNN, Sky News, The Guardian, The Independent, The Associated Press, Reuters, Forbes, the Daily Mail, and MSN, extensively covered our 'unauthorized' trip. These are just a few examples of the extensive coverage the campaign managed to secure, not to mention numerous football channels, blogs, and online portals that also discussed the trip.

Leading to:

- 147 Markets Reached

- 2.2M Engagement

- 5.7K Total Articles

- 11.6B Total Reach

- +150M Estimated Media Value

- 3.8B Positive Reach

Leading to the ‘Highest Organic Performance in The History of Saudi Tourism – the highest organic Google Searches for Visit Saudi across the world.

Additionally, last but not least, ‘Destination Positivity’ increased 9% YOY & Visitation Increased 36% YOY for the same time period.