Built for Play: How Qiddiya City Creates a New Destination Paradigm

This sponsored content was created in collaboration with a Skift partner.

Consumer appetite for travel has never been greater. In particular, the rise of “live tourism” means that more and more travelers are actively seeking one-of-a-kind, once-in-a-lifetime experiences, in contrast to spectacle-first, tourist-centric attractions and resort destinations. This shift has opened a window for global destinations to recalibrate their offerings around entertainment, sports, and cultural activities, which have become defining drivers of demand.

The question is: How will the industry be able to deliver on these expectations thoughtfully and consistently in a way that will lead to sustained long-term growth? For Qiddiya City, the world’s first city “built for play,” this question isn’t rhetorical. It sits at the heart of its very inspiration and existence as people look to travel and “play” as a means to live better, not solely to be entertained.

The power of “play” as its unifying philosophy is more than a demographic label. Whether people are drawn to the thrill of a sporting event, the energy of a live concert, or the inspiration of cultural experiences, they’re all engaging in a form of play, experiencing moments of immersion, joy, and connection. Play bridges these experiences by focusing on the emotional payoff, not just the activity. It’s what turns a destination into a feeling, and what sets Qiddiya City apart.

Play is widely undervalued and also misunderstood, which is why Qiddiya City is laser-focused on creating a destination that provides a holistic experience built around play. In today’s economic, geopolitical, and social context, play offers connection, creativity, and relief. It’s also a driver of well-being, cultural exchange, and economic activity.

And there’s not enough of it. For instance, a 2023 Toluna and BCG Brighthouse survey of more than 2,500 consumers found that 50% of people said they play less than they used to 10 years ago, and 59% said they don’t think they play enough or want to play more if they can. Of those who said they play less, 48% said they were too busy, and 43% said they had too much work to play.

“People need to understand how play can impact life in many different forms,” said Ross McAuley, MD advisor and director general of Play Qiddiya City DMMO.

Indeed, people who embrace play are more resilient. According to a recently published Oregon State University study of 503 U.S. adults, people “with a greater propensity to seek out fun” during the Covid-19 pandemic were much more likely to see “obstacles as opportunities for growth, compared with less playful individuals.”

“Playfulness doesn’t distort reality – it enhances it,” said Xiangyou “Sharon” Shen, who led the study.

McAuley’s perspective supports this research. “The dragon we’re trying to slay is that play is, in many ways, an infantilised concept. You’re taught that it’s something that’s childish, that is not serious, that spending time on this is not a good use of your time or a productive use of your time,” he added.

Part of the disconnect is that “work” and “play” are positioned as definitionally opposite in our educational systems, which, McAuley observed, were developed in the industrial era when the goal was to train factory workers.

The technological era of the 21st century is challenging this positioning. Artificial intelligence has already become fundamental to the way that people live, work, play, and communicate. The true value of AI is not for the mundane, repeatable tasks that it will replace, but rather for its ability not only to enhance humans’ creative capability, but also to elevate what we can do and give us more time to explore leisure pursuits.

This, McAuley asserts, will blur the lines between work and play.

“Playing with ideas, playing with problems, connecting with people, and giving yourself permission to think outside the box is what’s going to constitute success in the new AI world,” he said. “We want to help people see the value of a play-based approach and mindset of embracing that instinct, not just as a way to unwind and have fun in your leisure time, but also as a way for you to optimize your performance and stand out amongst your peers, be that professionally or competitively in business or in sport.”

This massive cultural shift will also create even more value for experiences anchored by raw human energy and emotion. AI can’t replicate feeling the wind on your face in the front row of a 250-kilometer-per-hour roller coaster, participating in a collective frenzy at a World Cup match, smelling kerosene and burnt rubber from F1 cars, or, of course, spending time with family and friends in a place with entertainment, events, and cultural activities suited to intergenerational interests. These kinds of experiences will never be replaced by technology, only enhanced by its capabilities and elevated by its influence.

“Play is capturing a sense of being in the moment,” said McAuley. “Nowadays, because we’re digitally tethered, it’s become quite difficult to lose yourself in any one thing. That’s why it’s even more important that we develop an infrastructure that focuses on the experience of play.”

The concept of building a city around play aligns perfectly with the “live tourism” megatrend gripping the global travel business. But Qiddiya City isn’t a response to customer demand, nor is it a one-dimensional resort or a seasonal attraction. It’s a city with a 30-plus-year master plan, integrated through the philosophy of play, designed to serve residents, travelers, and investors alike.

By creating a metropolis from the ground up instead of adding attractions to an existing area, Qiddiya City has to answer the question of why someone would want to live in a city centered on play.

“Building is easy; filling it with people and giving it a vibrancy, life, vibe, and sense of place is really difficult,” said McAuley.

To fulfill this vision, leisure and culture have to come together to enhance everyday life. McAuley conceded that other cities have F1 tracks, football stadiums, concert venues, and theme parks. (Other cities don’t have esports districts, but the uniqueness of Qiddiya City’s individual offerings is a story for another day.) However, what no other destination city has is the proximity and concentration of all these things together, and through these intersections, people will be able to discover new experiences or overlap in ways they wouldn’t have before.

Because getting outside and getting offline is such a big part of play, the city is designed around a theme of seamlessness to make that a reality. Parks, walking and biking tracks, trails, autonomous vehicles on demand, and public transport will connect all of the Qiddiay City together in ways that are unprecedented in other destination cities, where residential communities, resorts, and attractions are isolated from each other instead of working in harmony.

To create that effect, and to get a positive outcome, “you have to understand those communities, and you’ve got to tap into their passion points,” said McAuley. “We’ll have communities of people that will visit Qiddiya City as a visitor, we’ll have communities of people that will live in Qiddiya City, and there’s some interesting Venn diagrams there of how they interact and overlap. Maybe there’s a massive community of gamers who are also avid F1 fans, and that kind of cross-pollination is going to be really interesting to see.”

Qiddiya City is also redefining the concept of building a destination city by embedding meaning and purpose into travel while creating long-term livability for its 500,000 permanent residents. Secondary infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, and other municipal services are being built to support the community from the outset, rather than having to catch up after the tourists arrive.

Another big part of its vision is job creation, as the city will host approximately 300,000 jobs at scale once fully developed. In the hospitality business specifically, that goes beyond the locally operated training programs already in place to help attract and staff soon-to-be-launched tourism endeavors. Qiddiya City will have more than 30 education facilities, including a school of tourism and hospitality offering in-person and online courses. These educational opportunities will contribute not only to the local employment base but to the broader global industry. Overall, this vision is creating a new paradigm for sustainable urban living.

“We talk about buildings, we talk about infrastructure, we talk about mobility, but the real true focus of what Qiddiya City should manifest is a sense of community,” said McAuley.

For extensive research and deeper insights into the power of play and its impact on the future of global tourism, download the report from Skift and Qiddiya City.

This content was created collaboratively by Qiddiya City and Skift’s branded content studio, SkiftX.