How TDF developed its ESG Strategy
The ESG strategy was developed over six months in collaboration with key internal and external stakeholders
Baselining
Analysing local, regional, and international ESG activities and standards across countries, peers, tourism entities
External Stakeholder Engagement
Assessing local ESG ambitions across KSA’s key players focusing on governmental organisations and programs
ESG Materiality & Maturity Assessment
Identifying key ESG focus areas for TDF’s ESG Strategy based on baselining and external stakeholder engagement results and assessing TDF’s ESG maturity level
Internal Stakeholder Engagement
Engaging with key internal stakeholders that will play an important role in implementation of ESG Strategy
Ambition Setting
Articulating a leading ambition on ESG, aligned with TDF’s core objectives and priorities
Defining Areas For ESG Integration Across the Value Chain
Identifying recommendations to integrate ESG into TDF’s value chain and risk framework and development of ESG Scorecard to assess the impact created by TDF’s portfolio on ESG
Defining In-house Priorities and Enablers
Setting internal targets and developing initiatives and plans to integrate sustainability into TDF’s in-house operations
Strategy Roadmap & Resourcing
Developing a prioritised roadmap to implement the ESG Strategy with ownership of key activities
In 2023, the Fund formalised its approach towards sustainability through its ESG Strategy, rooted in leading global practices and national priorities.
Since then, it has embraced a structured and proactive methodology to integrate ESG principles, into its ethos, operations, and partnerships.
Market Scanning and Benchmarking
The Fund conducted an extensive market scanning exercise, analysing over 60 entities across the tourism value chain, including financial institutions, hospitality groups, and global tourism leaders. TDF also studied more than 10 leading ESG frameworks to extract measurable, trackable KPIs and best practices that would anchor its strategy in impact and accountability.
Stakeholder Engagement
TDF engaged extensively with key stakeholders, including global institutions such as the UN Tourism, and national entities like the Ministry of Tourism and Sustainable Tourism Global Center. These engagements enriched its understanding of the ESG landscape and ensured its strategy was grounded in both, global best practices and national priorities.
ESG Maturity Assessment
To establish an informed strategy, the Fund conducted a comprehensive ESG maturity assessment. This diagnostic exercise evaluated its current ESG integration across critical dimensions such as leadership, governance, risk management, and sustainable finance. Through structured engagements, the Fund identified key opportunities to strengthen its ESG position. These insights formed the cornerstone of its strategic planning. This process not only helped the Fund understand its current position, but also enabled it to benchmark against peers and identify opportunities to lead the way forward. TDF’s strategy is designed to elevate its ESG position, not just in comparison, but in leadership.
Alignment with Global and National Drivers
The ESG strategy is aligned with global frameworks such as the UN SDGs and the Paris Agreement, while prioritising Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goals for sustainable tourism. This approach ensures that the Fund supports both international commitments and national ambitions, positioning sustainable tourism as a key driver of economic diversification and environmental stewardship.TDF supports these goals by embedding ESG principles into its operations and funding. In addition, the Fund ensures alignment with key global indices such as the Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI)- specifically across four subindexes: Enabling Environment, T&T Policy and Enabling Conditions, Infrastructure, and T&T Sustainability-and the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), focusing on Climate and Environmental Health policy areas. These indices are important as they provide internationally recognised benchmarks that assess the readiness and sustainability of tourism ecosystems and evaluate national environmental performance and health outcomes, helping guide strategic priorities and track progress over time.
Foundational Elements of ESG Strategy
Together, the foundational elements - internal maturity assessment, the global and national drivers of sustainable finance, and its strategic alignment with Saudi Arabia’s sustainability agenda - form a cohesive framework for TDF's ESG Strategy. This framework defines its ESG Strategic Areas and Pillars, all driving the Fund’s vision: to lead the shift toward sustainable tourism that benefits communities, clients, and travellers, while fostering long-term socio-economic prosperity.
Implementation Enablers
Every element of TDF’s strategy was carefully considered, including how to maximise success during implementation. Two critical enablers emerged to support this goal.
Two Critical Enablers
First, the Fund developed a comprehensive, firm-wide ESG policy that outlines clear, actionable steps for implementation, identifies all relevant stakeholders, and serves as a guiding resource for both current and future employees.
Second, the Fund introduced a board-level KPI to continuously monitor the implementation progress of TDF’s ESG Strategy ensuring accountability, transparency, and sustained momentum.
ESG Maturity Journey
When TDF embarked on its ESG journey, it did so from an evolving, not basic, starting point, demonstrating early commitment and strategic intent. As a developmental fund by design, the Fund is inherently well-positioned to drive ESG outcomes, as its mandate aligns naturally with long-term value creation, inclusive growth, and sustainable development. Utilising a structured ESG maturity framework that assesses organisations across key ESG pillars, the Fund was initially evaluated at the Evolving level. This framework is widely applied across industries, with thousands of organisations benchmarked against it, providing meaningful comparisons and insights into best practices. Within just one year of focused implementation, TDF progressed to the Established level and is on track to achieve Leading maturity by 2028.
This is not just a strategy, it is a story of vision, collaboration, and leadership. It reflects the Fund’s role as a national enabler of sustainable development and its aspiration to lead the shift toward a tourism sector that is inclusive, resilient, and future-ready.
