Radisson Hotel Group accelerates expansion strategy in Saudi Arabia with focus on holy cities

Boutique Group, a pioneering ultra-luxury hospitality group fully owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, marks its first independent participation at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM), one of the most significant tourism industry events in the world.

Jeddah Historic District Program (JHD), under the patronage of the Saudi Ministry of Culture, and Cruise Saudi, a fully-owned Public Investment Fund company, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This agreement aligns with the ambitious development goals of Saudi Vision 2030. This partnership is strategically designed to accommodate the increasing number of international cruise visitors who enjoy exploring the authentic sites of the historic district. Central to the goals of both Jeddah Historic District Program and Cruise Saudi is preserving the area’s distinctive cultural identity and historical landmarks while stimulating local economic growth. This collaboration encourages local entrepreneurship and investment, drawing on the private sector’s innovative capacities to enhance the visitor experience. This proactive involvement aims to boost job creation, foster small businesses, and promote sustainable economic activities that benefit the entire community.

Even by Saudi standards, the goals are ambitious: By 2030, the country wants 330 million passengers to pass through its airports annually, up from around 112 million last year.

Nestled between the intensely blue waters of the Ionian Sea and the stunning backdrop of the Peloponnese Mountains, Costa Navarino is steeped in history dating back thousands of years. This peninsula in southwest Greece, while ripe with its own Messinia heritage, is also just three hours from Athens, so it’s a haven for history and culture lovers.

“Perception” was one of the key topics discussed by Saudi Tourism Authority CEO Fahd Hamidaddin during a roundtable discussion at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) conference in Dubai.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, May 8. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Saudi Arabia’s spare-no-expense cruise brand Aroya is set to launch this December, promising cigar lounges, jacuzzis, 28 dining options, 20 venues for entertainment, a retail area, and wellness and spa facilities.

As passenger numbers in the Middle East are predicted to reach 429 million this year, representing a 5.4% increase on 2019 figures, a panel of aviation experts convened at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) yesterday to discuss how the market is changing, outlining their predictions for the future of air travel. The session, ‘Looking Skyward for Innovation: How Technology is Disrupting Aviation’, was moderated by travel expert Mark Frary and included panellists from Cirium, IATA, AviationXLab, and Riyadh Air.

One of the Middle East’s annual big-ticket industry events, the Arabian Travel Market (ATM), takes place this week in Dubai and opened this morning, while the UAE continues to attract visitors from around the world. Just this year, Dubai was ranked first in the Top 100 City Destinations Index 2023 by Euromonitor International. This comes against a backdrop of the world recovering from Covid-19, high inflation rates affecting travel, and turmoil in the region. Although the global travel market continues to recover, few can doubt that the dark clouds that have hovered over the Middle East since the Israel-Gaza war broke out in October of last year have taken a toll on tourism and business travel alike in countries like Egypt and Jordan.

ASFAR, the Saudi tourism investment company wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, has announced today the signing of investment agreements between Baheej, a joint venture between ASFAR and the Tamimi-AWN Alliance, and the Royal Commission for Yanbu. These agreements are aimed at transforming the city of Yanbu into a premier tourist destination by introducing four innovative projects along the waterfront.

Capitalising on China’s projected tourism growth was a key topic at yesterday’s Market Insights Summit at Arabian Travel Market (ATM). The summit, which took place on the Global Stage at the Middle East’s leading travel and tourism exhibition, explored the potential of the developing markets such as China. 

The Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) marked the start of this year’s Arabian Travel Market (ATM) by showcasing the Kingdom’s spectacular summer destinations to trade partners as the country’s tourism sector continues to go from strength to strength, said the Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday.