SHAFAQNA FUTURE- Tourism development in Saudi Arabia fulfill through domestic tourism in secondary cities. As a part of vision 2030 diversification plans, Saudi Arabia is adopting a multi-level approach toward hotel development. Mega developments are the most prominent of these plans. During the past years, development by the private sector has been considered which is focused on expansion of secondary leisure destinations.
According to Ali Manzoor, Head of hotels and tourism at real estate consultancy CBRE Middle East, currently, the Tourism Development Fund (TDF) is supporting the expansion of secondary cities that have traditionally been well-known for domestic visitors. TDF signed two contracts to develop tourism destinations in Al Baha region and Taif. Through proposing vision 2030 as well as the novel tourism strategy, secondary and tertiary cities and heritage places like Abha, Aseer and Taif will be developed.
As the government’s tourism strategy has been proposed to establish 500,000 hotel rooms in Saudi Arabia by 2030, relatively all international hotel chains have declared new projects in this country. This is because there exists a high level of confidence in project implementation.
Heritage, culture and sports tourism
Hotel projects are progressively built in far regions, beach towns, historical places, and private islands. The aim is to enhance various nature and heritage in Saudi Arabia. It is expected that new annual events like the Saudi Arabian Formula One Grand Prix and the Red Sea Film Festival will absorb more visitors and promote occupancy in hotels. The initial stimulant of tourism GDP in Saudi Arabia in 2020 was domestic tourism. The ultimate purpose is to attract international tourists as what is happening in other major markets in this region.
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