Ask Skift: Why Is Saudi Arabia Making a Big Investment in Its Tourism Industry?

25.08.2023 - 13:01 / skift.com / Rashaad Jorden / John Pagano / Red Sea Global / Ask Skift

Saudi Arabia has taken steps in recent years to beef up its tourism industry as part of its Vision 2030 plan, including launching a seasonal campaign named Rethink Summer. The kingdom is also currently home to the largest hotel construction activity in the Middle East.

But the country has long struggled to attract international tourists due to issues that include strict curbs on drinking and severe restrictions for women, as well as allegations of human rights abuses against journalists.

So why is Saudi Arabia making this enormous investment in its tourism industry?

Ask Skift, our artificial intelligence chatbot, listed four reasons why the kingdom is planning to invest more than $1 trillion in the sector over the next decade. Here are those responses plus additional information.

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Ask Skift Said:

Saudi Arabia plans to triple the contribution of its tourism industry to the economy by 2030. This goal includes attracting 100 million tourists by 2030, an achievement comparable to France’s tourism numbers. This move is part of a broader strategy to diversify the Saudi economy away from its heavy reliance on oil revenue.

What else you need to know:

Despite Saudi Arabia’s grand tourism ambitions, luring travelers away from destinations such as Dubai and Egypt is a tall order. The focus may be on convincing Saudis who usually vacation abroad to frequent the Red Sea resorts.

Saudi Arabia’s efforts to increase visitor numbers include a memorandum of understanding with China-based Trip.com Group. The company and the Saudi Tourism Authority will launch joint marketing campaigns in markets such as Australia, China, Japan and the United Kingdom. Saudi tourism officials are heavily targeting Chinese travelers with a goal of attracting 3.9 million visitors from China annually by 2030.

The Saudi government’s tourism strategy includes significantly beefing up the country’s aviation infrastructure. The country has unveiled plans to build the King Salman International Airport, which is expected to be one of the world’s largest airports. The airport aims to accommodate up to 120 million travelers by 2030 and 185 million by 2050.

Saudi authorities also announced in March the launch of Riyadh Air, a national carrier that will serve more than 100 destinations. The Saudi Press Agency, the country’s official news agency, said the new airline is expected to add $20 billion to the country’s non-oil gross domestic product growth.

The Red Sea Project and Amaala developments are elements of Vision 2030 that John Pagano, CEO of Saudi Arabia-based developer Red Sea Global said would be instrumental in opening up the kingdom to global visitors.

Amaala is