Tourism Development Fund (TDF) was established in June 2020, by royal decree with a pivotal mission: to enable the private sector and investors—both local and international—to drive the growth of Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector. The Fund supports projects of all sizes, from mega projects worth billions of Saudi Riyals to micro businesses starting at just ten thousand Saudi Riyals. TDF’s vision is clear: unlock the capital of the private sector and position it as the leader in the Kingdom’s growing tourism industry.
Embracing Technology and Data-Driven Decision Making
From its inception, TDF recognized the crucial role of technology in achieving its goals. The Fund’s technology strategy has always been centered around establishing a robust foundation for data. Understanding the evolving demands of a new market, identifying market shifts, and serving diverse market segments required a sophisticated approach to data management.
A key component of TDF’s strategy was implementing a user-friendly tool that could provide dynamic, easy-to-use access to data for both technical and non-technical users. The aim was to lay the groundwork for big data analytics, ensuring that all decisions were based on actionable data insights. After extensive research and benchmarking various tools, TDF chose Incorta as its data solution, a decision that has proven to be highly effective.
Overcoming Challenges with Advanced Data Solutions
Implementing Incorta into an existing comprehensive technology landscape within TDF presented several challenges, particularly in terms of reporting. The Fund’s tourism investment portal, a microservice-based architecture, required integrating data from multiple databases with varying formats, structures, and connectivity. Previously, the team had to run complex SQL queries, collect data from different databases, and manually aggregate the information. This process was time-consuming, taking approximately two hours per person each day to prepare the reports.
The manual data aggregation not only consumed valuable time but also impeded the team’s ability to focus on building new technologies. The need to handle a wide range of data sources, including structured data from databases like MySQL and unstructured data from Excel sheets and MongoDB, added to the complexity.
The Incorta Solution: Streamlining Data Management
The introduction of Incorta transformed TDF’s data management processes. By integrating Incorta, TDF was able to save an impressive 400 hours that were previously spent on manual report generation. The platform enabled instant connections to 20 data sources and supported 43 schemas, providing real-time data operations that significantly enhanced the Fund’s efficiency.
Incorta’s ability to handle diverse data sources and facilitate real-time analytics allowed TDF to meet its data needs with ease. The platform’s user-friendly interface ensured that even those without prior training could quickly become proficient in using it. TDF’s data infrastructure now supports seamless data aggregation and reporting, freeing up the team to focus on strategic initiatives.
Advancing with API Integration
Beyond internal efficiency, Incorta’s integration also enabled TDF to expose APIs, making Incorta a crucial backend component for their data operations. This capability has extended TDF’s reach, allowing the Fund to offer valuable data services and insights through API integrations.
Conclusion
The successful implementation of Incorta has revolutionized TDF’s approach to data management, enabling the Fund to achieve remarkable operational efficiency and support the growth of Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector. By leveraging advanced data solutions, TDF has positioned itself as a leader in the market, capable of responding to dynamic market needs and driving data-driven decision making.
TDF’s journey underscores the importance of adopting innovative data technologies to unlock new opportunities and overcome challenges in a competitive landscape. As TDF continues to expand its capabilities, the Fund remains committed to fostering a data-centric culture that supports sustainable growth and development in the tourism industry.
About the Author:
Nasser Alhimeidi is the Associate Director of Applications Development at the Tourism Development Fund (TDF). With a Computer Science degree from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, he brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in applications development and management. In his current role at TDF, Nasser leads a team responsible for innovating and optimizing TDF’s data strategy to support the Fund’s mission to drive growth in Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector.