Sustainable Development in Buraydah: A Case of Tourism

Transcription

1 Sustainable Development in Buraydah: A Case of Tourism A. S. Alaboodi (Corresponding author) Engineering College, Qassim University PO Box 6677, Buraidah, Qassim alaboodi@qu.edu.sa A. Al-Hazmi, M. Faheem, Architecture College, Qassim University PO Box 6677, Buraidah, Qassim alhazmi@qu.edu.sa; faheem@qu.edu.sa Abstract Saudi Arabia attracts national and international tourist for Hajj, Umrah, business purposes, recreation and leisure purposes. Visiting the holy mosques in Makah and Medina are the major tourists' activities. Thus, tourism is the major contributor to the revenue of these cities' economy. Furthermore, tourists also visit the coastal region like Jeddah and Dammam. It depicts both culture as well as heritage; however, it has a strong impact on the culture, society and environment. Islamic religious rules control the civil life inside the kingdom. Thus, tourists experience Islamic conservative values, heritage and traditional hospitality. The tourism development must be sustainable to ensure equity, enrich the society, enhance economic growth, generate job opportunities and address local communities through the model of tourism. To achieve this goal, it is essential to study the tourism opportunities on the regional level. Moreover, analyzing the existing ones to identify their real potentials would be an added advantage. This paper aims at investigating the state of tourism development, infrastructure, policies and guidelines regarding the city of Buraydah at Qassim region, Saudi Arabia. It also proposes the tourists' spots considering the futuristic demands of the city Keywords: Buraydah, Qassim, sustainable, tourism, landscape, recreational infrastructure, leisure. 1. Introduction In the past several decades, geographers have played vital role in tourism studies [1]. People have been engaged in it intentionally as well as unintentionally. As the time passes, history leaves behind a benchmark for the present generation and becomes an inspiration for the future. There are growing appeals for strengthening the ties between tourism geography and economic geography [2]. The processes by which tourists experience culture and the way culture is utilized by the tourism industry and host communities are increasingly in conflict. Sometimes an effective bond cannot be created between the culture of a city and the tourists [3]. Due to this, tourists feel disappointment and do not like to visit the place. Quran says that humans are caliphs in this world: they should know and explore all the creations [Q, 67:15]. Halal tourism is allowed in Islam. Indeed, tourism industry is one of the world s largest and fastest growing economic sectors. Tourism, as practiced in developed countries as essentially an economic endeavor, whereas in developing countries it is mainly a source of leisure consumption as a path to development [4]. Saudi Arabia content of thirteen provinces, Qassim is one of them. It is located in the west side of Red sea and east of Arabian Gulf; almost has equal distance to the center [5]. Buraydah is the capital of Qassim province. It is located very near to the famous Wadi Al-Rummah. Buraydah is being going 1

2 through many developments and is also developing and promoting tourism through its hidden existing potentials. It has the best agriculture sector as compared to other cities of the kingdom. Buraydah climatically is similar to other cities. It has a very good location; therefore developing the city for tourism purposes shall be excellent. Furthermore, the city enjoys a favorable climatic condition. Buraydah is an emerging city that can easily be developed into a tourist hub. Saudi Arabia experiences the maximum influx of tourists during the hajj period. In addition to this, it attracts tourists throughout the year for Umrah purposes. Consequently, religious tourism/pilgrimage tourism can be easily developed in Saudi. Jeddah city is renowned in the world for its architecture and recreational facilities. Buraydah has a key importance because it reinforces its links with the other cities of Saudi Arabia. In addition to this, the city needs to take advantage of its wonderful natural location and should develop its tourism. The manner in which natural resources are utilized can lead to environmental deprivation as the sites are transformed [6]. In future, Buraydah is hoped to be known as a city that caters to the people's demands efficiently. It is hoped that it will have urban infrastructure and recreational facilities that will facilitate its citizens. In future, Buraydah will be known for its Islamic recreation facilities. Significantly, the emergence of tourist typologies is considered a step towards the recognition of the diverse tourists' experiences [7]. The main aim of this research is an architectural focus on the urban structure of Buraydah. It seems these tourists' likings for these urban structures will be sustainable. If sustainable model of development is adopted, it will make the city more aesthetic. It will provide job opportunities as well as enhance revenue growth. Tourism development can attract foreign workers from other economic sectors, particularly agriculture [8]. Tourism would work for the new generation. It would help in generating the jobs [9]. Most of the employment in various tourism sectors is highly seasonal, and this fact creates fluctuations between local and regional employment level [10]. Changes in the socioeconomic status of some individuals instantly occur because their land may suddenly acquire considerable value & importance [11]. Aldakhil [12] examined the tourism potential in Qaseem. The study showed that the region has potential to develop many tourist tours for visiting cultural and natural tourist sites. Moreover, it indicated that popular natural and historical areas have relatively poor accessibility and services. Maisel [12] analyzes the reasons for the fall off and argues that this relative decline stems from overwhelming state control over the Unayzh city's administration and resources, the collusion of the elites and a rapid transformation of social and economic standards It can happen that those people; whose property is not fetching them anything might benefit from the development of tourism. Marketing is the most important aspect to develop tourism; marketing goes through social environment by a scientific approach that focuses on the tourists' needs. This is the time of networking; people are connected very well through mobile, internet etc. Tourism executive will contact the people through advertisement on television channels, internet website etc. As a result, a strong relationship will be established between tourists and the city. Tourism has innumerable benefits. It can help in economic development as well as ensure human development. In addition, tourism can enable active community participation, health and wellness of a community as well as ensure safety and security. Strategy can be developed so that recreational experiences can be ensured while ensuring environmental protection. Indeed tourism can control several of the future dimensions. 2. Tourism Potential in Buraydah In today s rapidly changing world, tourism is getting a great significance for people; who need to recreate and enjoy. Besides this, technological advancements have brought about massive changes in tourism participation. Applying these understandings of modern concepts of tourism and recreation will identify the major recreational potentials of Buryadah. In order to do this, the city, its location, strategic importance and connectivity as well as existing situation of development have been discussed. It has been indicated in the given figure that Buraydah is situated in the center of Saudi Arabia. It is well connected with big cities like Riyadh, Dammam, Madinah, Jeddah and Makkah by air & as well as by road. It is very obvious that many people like to come to Makkah as well as Riyadh using Qasim's route. In that respect the position of Buryadah is extraordinary, that can make it a center for Islamic tourism as it has all the facilities for recreation. 2

3 In order to get that idea, the city, its location, strategic importance and connectivity as well as existing situation of development have been discussed in figure 1. It indicates that Buryadah is situated in the centre of Saudi Arabia. It is connected with large cities like Riyadh, Dammam, Medina, Jeddah and Makah by air and road; attracting many people who come to Makah as well as Riyadh. In that respect the position of Buryadah is strategic, therefore, Buryadah can become a centre for Islamic tourism. Thus, it needs to have all the facilities for conservative recreation. Figure 1. Location of Buraydah (Left) and Connectivity from other cities (Right) Figures 1 shows Buraydah s internal and external roads have been discussed, the outer ring road of Buryadah works like a boundary wall and the city lies within it. Then King Fahad Road and King Abdulaziz Road are there that divide the city into 4 parts. The whole city is also divided into small pockets, most of the city roads have been managed nicely. They are kept clean and well maintained. The services are promptly organized in a way that it makes it easy to maintain the city; repairing of the roads is done properly. There are no pedestrian pathways along the city roads, thus, the movement along pedestrian ways is almost nil. The trees that have been planted in the city do not reduce the pedestrians' movements. If we see the development of the city, we are able to understand that most of the development has been concentrated within the central zone; because of this, most of the inhabitants in this zone are from India, Pakistan and Philippines. There are a few recreational facilities, and the developments of the periphery in this zone are very slow. Thus, the tourists will leave from the periphery. In order to develop an effective strategy a proposed methodology should be adopted. Here tourists' spots and recreational potentials have been identified. Their strengths and weaknesses have been analysed; their adequacy and inadequacy have been stated too. Figure 2. Recreational sites in Buraydah Figure 2 shows the tourists' spots in Buraydah. Municipality Park situated in the centre of the city. It is a public park, visited by both Saudi and non-saudi people and is also frequently visited by families, bachelors and children. They come to the park for passive recreation such as walk, play, and eat. Children come here to indulge in active recreation. The layout of the park fulfils people's needs to some extent. It has been nicely managed for example; the area for bachelors has been reserved on the two sides of the park, while the areas for families and children are in close proximity. The park experiences 3

4 maximum inflow of tourists on Wednesday. Families bring their food with them. They prefer this park for picnic. Bachelors also like it for recreational purposes. The downtown market (Khubaib) is very close to the park. It employs most of these people. Once they finish their work, they come and recreate in the park. There are parking, ATM and cafeteria facilities in the park this park is working effectively in this zone,but at times the park is not able to fulfil the requirements of the people especially on Thursday and Friday, this is due to too much rush during peak hours/days. Both families and bachelor's needs are not met properly. Hadiqa Park is a family park. It is situated in the centre of Khubeb. The green area and trees in it have beeen designed very well. It is utilized by both Saudis and non-saudis. A well-defined entry has been given in this park, with proper security personnel that control this park. A wall defines the boundary of the park in addition to this toilets and cafeteria have been provided in this park. Most of the visitors come during the evening. It is utilized for passive recreation. This park is most suitable for women because it provides them the required privacy. They are able to enjoy comfortably in this park. If the facilities could be enhanced in this park, it could be a fantastic tourist recreation. King Abdullah Park is a big park that has been developed for the tourism point of view. It is not visited much by visitors because it is far from the ring road, which is quite away from the city centre. This park lacks some facilities; it should be developed further for recreational activities at a big scale to happen. There are more parks occupying a large area should also be developed at a big scale. Such parks are Hadikat Hai Alsahi Park, Al faiziah Park, Mala Alhali, Alisrah, Lawayel and Hadika Alsahi Alsharkya. These are situated in different locations in the city. All these parks are important from locals' as well as tourists point of view. These are located on tourists' route. Khubaib market is located in the centre of the city this market is very important for non-saudis. Many visitors from other cities also come to this market that really maximizes the tourist inflow on Thursday and Friday. People come to the market for shopping and recreation, so it needs to be designed properly. In addition, seating spaces must be provided for pedestrian movements. All these improvements will enhance tourist stay. Improvement must be done, based on the visitors requirements. Furthermore, enhancing the security systems would also help to attract the visitors. Women accessories are available to fulfil their daily needs in the market. Moreover, recreational facilities enhance their comfort level. More spaces must be designed so that their recreation requirements could be met and extended efficiently. Buryadah is a recreation as well as handicraft centre; culture of the region can be depicted very clearly.this can be an added attraction for tourists. More and more motivation should be provided so that it can attract more and more tourists. Camel market and date market have been designed in a big area. Many people come to visit this camel market. Spaces for prayer have been designed properly, but it lacks many other facilities that must be provided for the benefit of whoever comes during festival. There is a football stadium in Buryadah that is utilized efficiently. The growing youth population of the city requires another stadium to fulfil their needs. Furthermore, Buraydah museum is frequently visited; that presents the history of the city. It needs further developments in order to attract more tourists. There is a water fall/body that also needs further development to attract more and more tourists. Buraydah has a good opportunity to develop recreational and leisure facilities in accordance with its tourism and recreational potential. 4

5 Figure 3. Density map of Buraydah The city s people as well as tourists can utilize these facilities. Figure 3, shows the thickly populated area of Buraydah. It accommodates large number of non-recreational activities that are effortlessly absorbed. Tourism will keep contributing in the economic benefits of the city. 3. Social and Cultural Development of Tourism The social and cultural aspect of the city shows that hijab (veil) is followed strictly. Furthermore, male and female activities are always separated. As observed in Baldya Park, women like to enjoy among themselves. It is due to the culture of the city that bases on gender differences. Ladies services are provided in a way that there is no interference of males to ensure their security and safety. This gives a clue that in future women will have to be provided with the spaces that should be away from the male occupied spaces. It must be done in way that they should accommodate the needs of the womenfolk without compromising on their security or religious values. They share a proportionate relationship but these spaces must be clearly differentiated and separated through some designs. The labor class often does not have enough money so that it cannot utilize its time for travelling or for leisure. Due to limited finances, this class has to compromise and to contend with it. The case is somewhat similar with small executives as well. Time becomes a constraint for such type of people. Saudi Arabia is a newcomer in the international tourism market, especially in terms of attracting modern types of tourism (e.g., leisure, MICE, sport and adventure). In many ways, Saudi Arabia can be classified as a new global destination. Pilgrimage to the holy cities of Makkah and Medina in Saudi Arabia (e.g., Hajj and Umrah) represents a special form of religious tourism with significant sociocultural effects on the urban development of the holy cities; and their local economies. In order to formulate a strategy for developing tourism, it is important to understand the socio cultural challenges faced by tourism in Saudi Arabia. The religious tourism is a form of conservative tourism; that needs to be encouraged. Further segregation of men and women is also a crucial concern. This puts many constraints on employment opportunities for both men and women, though this has to some extent, been overcome. For example, restaurants can be divided into different sections, family, men and women. The whole cultural concept of keeping women away from the gaze of strangers and the idea of men who are not supposed to look at women from another family; means that there is no simple solution except the provision of separate spaces for women. It must be done keeping in mind the Islamic tradition. The expansion of diverse tourism facilities and the provision of recreational services in the tourism sector are not being encouraged. Tourism-related agencies must co-operate in the active promotion of domestic tourism and the provision of high-quality services. The extent to which local people adapt components of culture offered to tourists for consumption is likely to be affected by at least two factors. First is the relative difference. This relative novelty between cultural components of the visitors affects tourism sector. Moreover it is also affected by the type and number of visitors. However, for Saudi 5

6 Arabia the problematic nature of religious purity is an added factor in the complex relationship between the visitors and hosts. Yet, there is another problem in keeping Saudi nationals at the front; obviously, it is creating cultural distinctions. Making cultural distinctions between the Muslims and the non- Muslims creates lot of problems. Actually, such attitudes may not be the direct experience of foreigners living in or visiting Saudi Arabia. It makes an extraordinary socio-cultural setting to start thinking about the development of tourism by involving non-muslims. Further, there are still pockets of poverty in Saudi Arabia and on the other hands, there young people who are confused by the demands of duty to their religion and the temptations of modern consumption. This leads to a big chunk of socially vulnerable young population that remains unemployed and often goes astray. This presents yet another challenge. It can be seen that regional economic and global political forces are combining to put enormous pressure on the existing polarity of modernization vs. ultra-conservative norms. Saudi Arabia is in an arena where the cultural values of old and modern, self and other, are struggling to come on to the common platform. Tourism might be able to make a positive contribution to this struggle. Figure 4. Proposed recreational zone in the city Figure 4, presents the existing and proposed recreational infrastructure; further tourist movement will be there according to their cultural system. Recreational facilities will attract the tourists to visit Buraydah regularly. 4. Conclusions Travelling for tourism is a purposeful activity to achieve spiritual, social, and physical goals. Therefore, travelling for the purpose of tourism and kind support and help people to reflect on the beauty of God s 6

7 creation and its marvelous manifestations. Tourism raises one s awareness and helps one to know much about different cultures and traditions. Conservative tourism in a country like Saudi Arabia or in our case (Buraydah city); is not just confined to attractive mosques, flamboyant Islamic architecture, and gender segregated use of facilities, alcohol-free venues, and halal food but it offers a lot many other things to tourists. Although some of them reflect Islamic religious tradition whereas, the other aspects make up the conservative tourism. The idea of promoting Conservative Tourism" is now becoming increasingly important. At the same time, this development has also brought forth the aspect of providing the specific needs and fulfilling the expectations of Muslim vacationers, who may prefer to remain within a familiar culture while travelling. Hence, there is an urgent need to formulate a halal tourism as a strategy to cater the needs of Muslim travelers and tourists. Furthermore, Islamic Tourism can also be extended to non-muslim world. Conservative tourism can be related to three major concepts: economic, cultural and religious-conservative concepts. Deep understandings of these concepts are essential in developing strategies to boost marketing and promotion of conservative tourism. References [1] W Hall, C. M., & Page, S. J. (2009). Progress in tourism management: from the geography of tourism to geographies of tourism A review. Tourism Management, 30, [2] Ioannides, D., & Debbage, K. (1998). The economic geography of the tourist industry: A supplyside analysis. London, New York: Routledge. [3] Cultural conflicts in tourism: Inevitability and inequality. In M. Robinson, & P. Boniface (Eds.), Tourism and cultural conflicts (pp. 1 32). Wallingford: CABI Publishing. ) [4] World Tourism Organization, Annual Report: A year of recovery [5] Jenkins, C. L. (1980). Tourism policies in developing countries: a critique. Tourism Management, 1(1), [6] Cohen, Erik 1978 the Impact of Tourism on the Physical Environment. Annals of Tourism Research 5(2): [7] Cohen, E. (1979a). Rethinking the sociology of tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 6(1), ) [8] Cohen, E., The Sociology of Tourism: Approaches, Issues and Findings. Annual Review of Sociology 10: [9] LaFlamme, A. G The Impact of Tourism: A Case from the Bahamas Islands. Annals of Tourism Research 6: ) [10] Archer, B. H.1973 the Impact of Domestic Tourism. Bangor Occasional Papers in Economics, No. 2. Cardiff : University of Wales Press. ) [11] Cohen, E.1982a Marginal Paradises: Bungalow Tourism on the Islands of Southern Thailand. Annals of Tourism Research 9: ) [12] Aldakhil, Mohammed Dakhil A, Classification of tourism potential in Al-Qaseem, Saudi Arabia using GIS, PhD Thesis, University of Leicester, 2007 [13] Sebastian Maisel, «The Transformation of Unayza: Where is the Paris of Najd today?», Arabian Humanities [En ligne], , mis en ligne le 09 septembre 2013, consultéle 08 février URL : 7