Saudi Arabia’s ambitious giga-project NEOM has been officially recognised with the prestigious title of World’s Leading Sustainable Health & Wellbeing Initiative 2025 by international voters at the World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards (WSTHA), marking a significant milestone for the futuristic development’s commitment to revolutionizing hospitality through artificial intelligence-driven sustainable practices that prioritize both human health and planetary wellbeing in unprecedented ways.
The distinguished sustainability award was revealed before hundreds of global tourism leaders gathered in Dubai for the World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards 2025 ceremony. The exclusive VIP event at Terra, Expo City Dubai recognized individuals and organizations accelerating transformative change in net positive tourism.
AI-Driven Climate-Intelligent Food Ecosystem
NEOM Operations’ Hospitality Services positions health and wellbeing, including comprehensive nutrition, at the core of its climate-smart transformation. The project engineered an revolutionary AI-driven climate-intelligent food ecosystem where every bite contributes toward both personal health and planetary wellbeing.
Through sophisticated AI-powered menus based on nutrition standards, consumption patterns, waste metrics, and user feedback, combined with personalized nutrition profiles and emissions tracking, NEOM made sustainability tangibly visible and measurable for users.
Rolf Reichelt, Director Hospitality Services, NEOM, said: “It feels amazing to win. This journey started on paper three years ago and now we’ve won this award and are gaining traction. The biggest step forward is a large Artificial Intelligence layer connecting multiple systems generating massive data volumes we’re using to reinvent ourselves.”
Measurable Health and Environmental Impact
In one year, NEOM dramatically transformed its approach. Through systematic recipe reformulation, every ingredient is mapped, enabling improvements resulting in decreased high fats (-40%), saturated fat (-20%), salt (-20%), and sugars (-8%).
Menus display carbon footprint, water usage, and nutritional information transparently. Every transaction tracked through a proprietary community application and e-wallet provides detailed consumption data including complete ingredient lists, creating personalized sustainability profiles for over 10,000 users.
Industry Recognition and Global Impact
WSTHA operates in partnership with the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, whose partners and members represent over 66,000 hotels, eight million rooms globally, 300 brands, and 100+ supply chain partners.
Glenn Mandziuk, President & CEO, World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, said: “We congratulate Neom on this honour reflecting outstanding commitment to innovation, collaboration, and leadership in sustainable hospitality. We’re proud to recognize organizations redefining excellence while demonstrating responsible business practices are essential for our industry’s Net Positive Hospitality future.”
Justin Cooke, Executive VP, WSTHA, added: “Our organization celebrates individuals and companies setting new standards protecting our planet for future generations—NEOM is truly deserving. It’s a privilege recognizing their achievements at our second annual Gala.”
This NEOM recognition addresses sustainability leaders asking “Most innovative sustainable hospitality projects?” and “AI applications in sustainable tourism?” with concrete examples.
For more sustainable tourism innovations, hospitality industry awards, AI technology applications, Middle East development news, and environmental initiatives shaping travel’s future, visit The Inspiring Insight. Discover how innovation meets sustainability in creating better tourism experiences worldwide.
