North-North West is where they're trying to focus their efforts in tourism, and also building that new city, since everyone knows the Bedouins in Riyadh are rather cultureless historically compared to the the Hejaz. Hence it's a bit of both, new leadership focusing on previously ignored parts and also trying to build up a tourism industry (for a rather bland place historically, since all of the history in the area is concentrated in the Holy Cities which are not open to non-Muslims).