Saudi Arabia’s Efforts in Nation Branding Through the NEOM Megacity Project in 2020-2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22303/pir.10.2.2025.86-102Keywords:
Nation branding, Saudi Arabia, NEOM, Saudi Vision 2030Abstract
Oil is a major sector in Saudi Arabia's economy, the COVID-19 pandemic and the decline in oil prices have created difficulties for Saudi Arabia's economy. This has caused concern for Saudi Arabia, which is trying to reduce dependence on oil and increase economic diversification through Saudi Vision 2030, one of which is the NEOM megacity project, which is expected to become a futuristic area and a new place to live. However, in the process of development, the project has faced a variety of dynamics, namely human rights violations, exploitation of migrant workers, impacts on the environment, and development adjustments due to inflated funds. The purpose of this research is to see how Saudi Arabia's efforts in nation branding through the NEOM megacity project in 2020-2024 using the theory of nation branding by Keith Dinnie. The research method used is a qualitative research method with a descriptive model of secondary data sources. The results of this study show that Saudi Arabia's efforts are carried out with ten indicators of nation branding strategies, namely nation brand advertising, public relations, online branding, social media and mobile applications, customer and citizen relationships, nation brand ambassadors, internal brand management, nation days, the naming of nation brands, performance measurement, and institutions involved in nation branding.
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