Saudi Arabian low-cost carrier Flynas has hired Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley and Saudi Fransi Capital for a potential initial public offering on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul), according to a Bloomberg report.
08.12.2023 - 13:19 / skift.com / Josh Corder
The Saudi Crown Prince has relaunched and “rebranded” his project outside of Riyadh called Qiddiya – a super-city purely focused on sports, leisure and entertainment. The new Qiddiya vision has been announced without a price tag, nor a firm opening date, but is described as a “cornerstone of Vision 2030” – Mohammed Bin Salman’s ambition to diversify his kingdom’s economy away from oil exports by the end of the decade.
When complete, the plan is for Qiddiya to create more than 325,000 jobs and add 135 billion Saudi Riyals ($36 billion) to the GDP each year it is up and running. It plans to have its own race track, a Six Flags theme park and FIFA World Cup-ready football stadiums, all spread over a space around twice the size of Washington D.C. (360 square kilometers).
Here are some of the facilities Qiddiya is promising:
Qiddiya also expects 48 million visitors a year; 1.8 million of those will be visiting purely to watch football matches.
We don’t know how much all of this will add up to dollar-wise, but the Qiddiya Investment Company, which MBS chairs, has awarded contracts worth $2.7 billion so far. Qiddiya says its main waterpark is 61% built, the Six Flags is 59% complete, and all its golf courses have been “shaped” over land equal in size to 215 football fields.
A post shared by Qiddiya | القدية (@qiddiya)
Based on the original plans, Qiddiya is well behind schedule. The project was first unveiled back in 2018, with its first phase expected to be done by 2022 and the Six Flags park up and running by 2023.
It is very likely that Qiddiya will become a sports epicenter if Saudi hosts the FIFA World Cup 2034, which it is currently the only bidder for.
In terms of funding, Qiddiya has the safety net of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, called the Public Investment Fund, which has around $700 billion in assets. This same fund is pumping dollars into other mega projects in the kingdom, ranging from The Red Sea archipelago tourism site to skiing retreats.
On Thursday, Saudi officials admitted for the first time that some flagship “Vision 2030” projects are facing delays, with some being pushed to 2033 or 2035.
Bloomberg reported that the Saudi government, which is forecasting budget deficits every year till 2026, has decided on delaying projects “to build capacity and avert huge inflationary pressures and supply bottlenecks,” Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan said Thursday. He didn’t specify which projects would be affected.
All plans had been reviewed based on “economic, social, employment and quality-of-life returns among other factors over the last 18 months,” he said. As a result, some are “being accelerated and some — largely projects in the pipeline which have not been announced yet —
Saudi Arabian low-cost carrier Flynas has hired Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley and Saudi Fransi Capital for a potential initial public offering on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul), according to a Bloomberg report.
When you think of a cruise vacation, you probably imagine sailing the tropical waters of the Caribbean, or navigating around the Greek islands. Your brain likely isn’t conjuring images of the sandswept deserts of Saudi Arabia. But Saudi Arabia strives to make itself more attractive for international tourism — making the process of getting a visa very easy, and establishing tourism-specific destinations like NEOM and AlUla. And thanks to its efforts, it’s become a desirable new destination for Red Sea cruises. Since the first cruise to Saudi Arabia in January 2022, sailings to the kingdom have multiplied. Right now Jeddah is the country’s main cruise port, though as tourism development continues throughout the region, more ports are likely to open. Whether you’re a cruise enthusiast or a newbie, now’s the time to consider a Saudi Arabia cruise.
Tourism leaders from around the world will join together in Saudi Arabia’s capital city, Riyadh, for 2023’s United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) World Tourism Day on September 27 and 28. Global tourism ministers and others in the industry will participate in events to connect and collaborate. The location of this year’s event shows how far tourism has come in the few short years since Saudi Arabia opened to tourists in 2019.
NEOM is central to Saudi Arabia’s push to encourage tourism and emerge as one of the world’s leading vacation destinations. Al’Ula and mega-projects inside of NEOM such as The Line and a new island destination called Sindalah have been the biggest locations to make headlines lately, but there are other moving pieces equally worthy of getting excited about. Take, for example, Leyja, a mountainous region within NEOM slated to be developed as a major tourism hub with three new futuristic hotels built right into the mountains.
What’s happening right now in Saudi is groundbreaking — literally and figuratively. Huge developments, so massive they’ve been dubbed “giga projects,” are transforming the country like nowhere else in the world, bringing in new attractions, opening next-level luxurious hotels, and even creating entirely new cities.
Since opening to tourists in 2019, Saudi Arabia has quickly become a world leader in travel. The country was elected as the Chair of the United Nations World Tourism Organization in 2023, and Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Tourism aims to welcome 100 million tourist visits by 2023. Such rapid growth takes massive investment — something Saudi Arabia has already proven to be more than willing to do successfully. With increased cruises bringing passengers to Saudi Arabia and a manageable visa application process, it’s hard to imagine another country more poised to dominate the global tourism market in upcoming years.
Located in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula, Riyadh, the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia, stands as a testament to the region’s rich tapestry of culture, history, and modernity.
What brands come to mind when you think “luxury”? Rolls Royce, Rolex, Chanel? “Dubai” is going to be the next one, as the modern emirate’s premier luxury hoteliers gear up to expand their properties across the region and then the world.
The upcoming Gulf Cooperation Council unified visa, which would ease crossing borders like in the Schengen Zone, is forecast to supercharge inter-regional travel in the Gulf states, according to Ras Al Khaimah’s tourism boss.
Saudi Arabia is truly leaving no stone unturned in its pursuit to become a tourism superpower. The kingdom’s latest move is to create the “Dan Company”, an organization under the sovereign wealth fund designed to promote and develop agritourism and eco-tourism.
Saudi Arabia’s Belgium-sized city of Neom has unveiled another giga-project. It’s called the Gulf of Aqaba and will contain many of the futuristic hotels the $500 billion project has announced in recent months.
State-owned Qatar Airways has partnered with barefoot luxury brand Habitas to open one of the most costly resorts in the country. The Habitas Ras Abrouq is slated to open next month with room rates starting at around $700 per night to stay in one of its 42 villas.