Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — The Saudi tourism sector is expected to contribute SR118 billion to the GDP by 2020, said Hamad Al-Ismail, vice president for Investment and Tourism Development at the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage.

He added that local flights will increase to reach 90.4 million. The total investment value in the sector will be SR172 billion. He noted that the number of hotel rooms will jump from 5000 to 620,000 rooms in 2020, while the tourism sector will be able to provide 1.2 million jobs in the coming years.

He pointed out that they are studying issuing tourism visas in which holders can perform Umrah. This step he said, can boost the tourism industry in the Kingdom.

Al-Ismail was addressing the audience at the eighth session on the second day of Makkah Region Economic Forum under the title “Public Investment Fund and Tourism”. He said they have put further the National Tourism Strategy to boost this sector and encourage investment, adding that they have pushed forward the private sector to lead the development in this sector. For this, SR2.7 billion have been allocated to provide loans for investors in the hotel sector and the commission has now considered providing the loans to other tourism investments, with the loan offered for an investor reaching SR100 million.

The commission, he said, has organized various exhibitions and held seminars to ease contact and has also organized 70 festivals and 600 events in 2016. He added that they have organized 90 visits to different countries accompanied by representatives from public and private sectors to learn from others and implement what is suitable in the Kingdom. Meanwhile, he said, that they are working with 30 archaeology teams which will offer more tourism opportunities in the future. So far, the kingdom, he said has registered four locations in the world heritage — a step that will allow the world to explore different Saudi culture and heritage.

Makkah, Al-Ismail further said, has great investment opportunities and highlighted that the chance is available especially in the hotel sector to meet the increasing demand as the number of visitors and pilgrims are expected to hit 30 million a year. He added that they also encourage investing in catering, travel services, conference tourism, and entertainment tourism.

The official said they are working carefully to pick up qualified investors to tackle different projects around the Kingdom. Among the development projects they have in Makkah are the development of Al-Nour Mountain, Thour Mountain, and King Saudi Palace. In addition, they are actively promoting Saudi Arabia: the Destination for Muslims Initiative and Live Saudi Arabia Initiative.

In Jeddah, they are repairing and cleaning the old buildings in Balad area in cooperation with owners and investors, developing Khuzam Palace and turning it into a museum, and developing Nasif House. Among the projects in the region are: the development of an island and beaches in Al-Laith, development of Al-Qunfuda beach, and development of Bahra Tourism Camp.

In Taif, the commission works on developing Al-Hada, Al-Shafa, Souq Okaz, Shoubra Palace, and it will establish historic centers and develop the historical dams in the city.

The commission has set 23 initiatives as part of the National Transformation Program in which new tourism destinations have been presented, including Al-Ras Al-Abyad in Madinah region, Khurasan, Baha, Asir, and Al-Ula.