The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) massive potential for hospitality investment has been emphasized at the 17th edition of the Arabian and African Hospitality Investment Conference (AHIC) at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai.
The Kingdom aims to meet three primary tourism objectives: employ one million people in the tourism industry over the next ten years; contribute 10% of GDP to the economy by 2030; become a top-five worldwide destination with 100 million visitors by 2030, explained Deputy Minister of Investment Attraction, Ministry of Tourism, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mahmoud Abdulhadi.
A top-five worldwide destination with 100 million visitors by 2030
Abdulhadi spoke with Jonathan Worsley, Chairman of Bench and Founder of AHIC, during a live on-stage interview. He said: “Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s last tourism frontiers and home to the world’s largest tourism projects. As the ministry works to meet our target of becoming a top-five global tourist destination, our strategy involves building a sustainable tourism market that provides stable growth opportunities whilst protecting the Kingdom’s natural environment. It is the perfect time to invest in Saudi tourism and, by investing now, our partners can directly contribute to the evolution of our nascent tourism sector.”
“From investors to attendees alike, there’s been considerable interest in the Saudi market here at AHIC. Inspired by the key themes of ‘innovation, sustainability and the future’, we were thrilled to have the Saudi Ministry of Tourism among our programme to showcase the work that is being done across the Kingdom to build its offering, attract investment and ensure a robust recovery of the sector post-pandemic, Worsley said.”
Abdulhadi also spoke about Saudi Arabia’s desire to become a world leader in sustainability
Abdulhadi also spoke about Saudi Arabia’s desire to become a world leader in sustainability. Andrew McEvoy, Head of Tourism Sector, NEOM, also revealed the foundations of developing a future destination with sustainability at the core of investment, and John Pagano, Chief Executive Officer, The Red Sea Development Company and Amaala, discussed regenerative tourism and the partnerships that make it a reality.
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