Delegates at the Future Hospitality Summit have been told that Saudi Arabia offers a rare opportunity for investors.
Khalid Al-Falih, the country's Minister of Investment, told attendees from around the world that the Saudi tourism sector is poised to expand sustainably, and invited them to participate.
From the Red Sea dive sites, the orange sand dunes of the Arabian Desert and some of the richest habitats anywhere on earth, there are few destinations that have the variety of offerings that Saudi Arabia has.
"Of course, we also have an extensive heritage dating back over thousands of years, some of which the outside world has largely undiscovered."
Al-Falih reiterated that by 2030, Saudi hoped to welcome 100 million visitors annually, bringing it to the top tier of global hospitality destinations.
For investors, this would give a great opportunity, he said.
We are looking at ways to make the tourism sector more involved.
In the post-Covid-19 world, what will make Saudi Arabia special is that as we expand, we will be undersupplied with hospitality properties.
A lot of hotels, airports and logistics markets are over-supplied, but that's not the case here.
"We will add 500,000 hotel rooms here in Saudi Arabia by 2030, whatever the situation in the rest of the world.
"Projects and opportunities will take place here, all of which will be offered to the private sector."
Al-Falih spoke at the Future Hospitality Summit, a hybrid virtual conference designed for the next two days in Riyadh to discuss big ideas and tackle the problems facing the hospitality industry.
The festival, which promises to be one of the hospitality community's most impactful events, will be presented by Bench Digital on a cutting-edge event platform.
It will provide all participants with an interactive live experience, including a virtual display, one-to-one video networking and integrated chat features.
Al-Falih continued: 'Foreign investors here in Saudi Arabia are not too familiar with the landscape.
They know the oil industry, sure, but it's fair to say that tourism is less so, and what we're trying to do with it is to lay out the business case.
We have to look at the regulatory climate and try to mitigate the risks by adjusting legislation and ensuring stability." They are aware of the risks and we have to respect that."
We will look at the implementation of special economic zones with new tax systems, legal mechanisms and international arbitration, none of which have been finalized, however we are working on them.
"These will be offered, if we find it necessary, to different sectors, including tourism."
Foreign direct investment in Saudi Arabia has dropped to record lows in recent years, according to the World Bank, illustrating the scale of the challenge at hand, particularly given the global recession likely to follow the Covid-19 shutdown.
The government will set out the infrastructure, the legal framework and the vision, and we hope the private sector will invest," Al-Falih concluded."
Over the last few years, this has been happening, and we hope tourism will be able to take advantage of that.
"We hope investors will bring guests, make money, and with them we will celebrate it."
More Info
The Future Hospitality Summit is being organised by the Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia and the G20 Saudi Secretariat as part of the G20 Saudi Presidency 2020 International Conference Program.
On the official website you will find out more.
Image: PA Images/Xinhua News Agency
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