The Mountain Life Of Neom: Trojena, A Home For Gulf’s First Outdoor Ski Resort To Open In 2026

NEOM is a city, a land of the future, with a vision to redefine and reimagine livability, business, urbanism and conservation at its core. People-first and nature-friendly, are the moral values of NEOM, a new urban area planned by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A global hub at its best, NEOM is currently developing the Gulf's first outdoor ski resort, Trojena, a blissful beauty that is located 50km from the Gulf of Aqaba.

What Is Trojena?

Trojena, one of the flagship developments within NEOM, is being developed and positioned as a year-round adventure sports destination which will include activities such as skiing, water sports, hiking and mountain biking.

Trojena is being developed into six districts: Gateway, Discover, Valley, Explore, Relax and Fun with outdoor skiing being its most unique and eye-candy feature for Gulf countries that are filled with deserted climates.

The project considers factors like environmental sustainability, and preservation of all living organisms and nature. The region is characterized by clean air, beautiful landscapes and climatic diversity, where temperatures drop below zero in winter, while the average temperature throughout the year remains 10 degrees Celsius lower than other cities across the region.

It will be situated in the center of NEOM, 50 kilometres from the Gulf of Aqaba coast, in a region characterized by a mountain range with the highest peaks in Saudi Arabia at approximately 2,600 meters above sea level. The blue waters of the Red Sea, the beauty of the NEOM mountain ranges and the golden desert sand dunes will provide skiers a first-of-its-kind experience that combines these diverse environments with fun-filled and adventurous moments.

Two years from now, Trojena will be open for visitors and vacation lovers in 2026. Further, it will host the Asian Winter Games in 2029. Trojena will act as a major catalyst for economic growth and diversification in Saudi Arabia.

The ski resort expects to attract 700,000 visitors and 7,000 permanent residents to live in Trojena and its adjacent residential districts by 2030. It aims to create more than 10,000 jobs and add SAR 3 billion to the Kingdom's GDP by 2030.

This is going to drive travel and tourism in Saudi Arabia. Trojena works to provide a different and unique tourism model, combining economic and community development, and environmental sustainability - a model which develops tourist destinations in accordance with principles and practices of sustainable tourism.

The new year-round tourist destination will consist of a series of facilities such as the ski village, ultra-luxury family and wellness resorts, a wide range of retail stores and restaurants, in addition to sports activities, including a ski slope, watersports and mountain biking, as well as an interactive nature reserve.

Trojena's Executive Director, Philip Gullett, believes NEOM aims at a legacy for future generations that speaks to the principles of the company.

He said, "Creating something for the future that can continue to grow. We've got a 1.2 million square meter masterplan. We already know there's potential for more development in the Trojena region so in a way, we're just getting things going. But the legacy is going to be a great place where people want to be. That's the mark of success. It's making something that enables the future and can live on into the future beyond the development stage so that Trojena can continue to grow and evolve."

Clark Williams, the Marketing and Communications Director at NEOM in an interview with GoodReturns.In staff believes the Indian travel market will be key for their project.

He was present at Asia's leading travel trade show, OTM which was held from February 8th to 10th in Mumbai. He represented NEOM in the show with the Trojena model in view.

Williams said, Saudi Arabia and India especially after the G20 summit have a lot to offer. He believes that the Indian travel market is at a booming stage and its travellers are among the major contributors to the global economy. That is one of the reasons for NEOM to also take opportunities from the Indian market.

NEOM made its first visit to India this year.

Last year, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his visit to New Delhi, signed at least eight deals with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 summit. The agreements were related to the field of energy, Digitization and Electronic manufacturing, Anti Corruption, archival cooperation, Bilateral Investment, EXIM Banks, SMEs, and Seawater Desalination.

Also, India and Saudi during the Invest Forum meeting in New Delhi in September last year, discussed bilateral collaboration in the domains of ICT & Entrepreneurship; Chemicals & Fertilizers; Energy & Sustainability; Advanced manufacturing; and Food security. The two countries signed more than 45 Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs). These MoUs are expected to further deepen the economic engagement between the two sides and are also likely to accelerate investment flows between the two sides.