A proposed design of eco-tourism camps for sustainable development in Taif, Saudi Arabia

The investment in the eco-tourism camps sector is considered as one of the key areas leading to sustainable economic development in Saudi Arabia. On one hand, it achieves one of the important goals of Saudi Vision 2030 in the development of Saudi tourism creating new tourist areas attractive to local as well as international tourism. On the other hand, this addresses one of the contemporary environmental issues in Saudi Arabia, which is the conservation of natural resources through the rationalization of water and electricity consumption in economic development projects. In the present paper, a proposed design for eco-tourism camp in Taif city, Saudi Arabia, has been presented. The proposed design is dependent on a similar camp units that can be used for human accommodation and living. Each unit is equipped with solar energy systems used for lighting and power generation. The designed unit is cooled with the Evaporative Cooling System that driven by a solar pump system. In order to complete our design, some additional components are required, e.g. storage tanks, piping systems, valves, etc. In general, the proposed design for eco-tourism camp model has proven it's effectiveness in Taif city as the internal temperature of the designed unit has been decreased by 7 degrees C in case of natural draft of incoming air, and decreased by 9 degrees C in case of using exhaust fans. Moreover, the proposed system is considered environmentally friendly in terms of the ability to recycle all the materials used in its design as well as low costs.