Saudi Arabia giga-project NEOM has been recognised with the title of World’s Leading Sustainable Health & Well-being Initiative 2025 by voters at the World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards (WSTHA).
The prize was revealed in front of hundreds of global leaders of sustainable tourism gathered in Dubai for the World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards 2025. The VIP ceremony was held at Terra, Expo City Dubai and recognised the individuals and organisations that are accelerating change in net positive tourism.
NEOM Operations’ Hospitality Services has health and well-being, including nutrition, at the core of its climate-smart transformation. They engineered an AI-driven climate-intelligent food ecosystem, where every bite counts toward both personal health and planetary well-being. Through AI-powered menus, based on nutrition standards, consumption, waste, and feedback patterns, to personalized nutrition and emissions profiles, NEOM made sustainability deliciously visible.
Rolf Reichelt, Director Hospitality Services, NEOM, said: “It feels amazing to win. This journey stated on a piece of paper three years ago and now we have won this award and we are gaining traction. The biggest step forward for NEOM is a large Artificial Intelligence layer above all of the systems we use, connecting many systems to generate a huge amount of data, all of which we are using to reinvent ourselves and improve.”
In one year, NEOM flipped the script. Through recipe reformulation, every ingredient is mapped, enabling recipe improvement that results in a decrease of high fats (-40%), saturated fat (-20%), salt (-20%), and sugars (-8%). Menus display carbon, water, and nutrition. Every transaction, tracked through a proprietary community application and e-wallet, provides detailed consumption data, including complete ingredient lists, and creates personalized sustainability profiles for over 10,000 users.
WSTHA is run in partnership with the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, whose partners and members represent over 66,000 hotels, eight million rooms globally, 300 brands, and over 100 supply chain and strategic partners.
Glenn Mandziuk, President & Chief Executive Officer, World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, said: “We extend our congratulations to Neom on being honoured. This achievement reflects an outstanding commitment to innovation, collaboration, and leadership in sustainable hospitality. At the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, we are proud to recognise organisations that are not only redefining excellence in guest experience but also demonstrating that responsible business practices and sustainability are essential to the future of our industry – a Net Positive Hospitality future.”
Justin Cooke, Executive Vice-President of the World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards, said: “Our organisation is dedicated to celebrating the individuals and companies setting new standards in protecting our planet for future generations – and NEOM is a truly deserving winner. It’s a privilege to recognise the organisation’s achievements at our second annual Gala Ceremony, and I wish the team continued success in the years ahead.”