Saudi Arabia is the first in the world in providing hotel tourism programs

Hotel tourism programs in Saudi Arabia are one of the emerging sectors with rapid growth and represent one of the important axes of the Saudi Vision 2030. In addition to the historical and heritage treasures and the natural and cultural diversity of Saudi Arabia, its land is considered the cradle of the Islamic religion, which makes it a tourist attraction. Where the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque go to millions of Muslims to perform Hajj and Umrah. The Kingdom was the first Arab destination preferred by Muslim tourists and fourth in the world among the list of the top ten most visited destinations by Muslim tourists. Among 130 countries, according to the 2019 Global Islamic Tourism Index report.

Creating a tourist visa

On September 27, 2019, Saudi Arabia introduced, for the first time in its history, a tourist visa that allows all citizens of the world to come to it throughout the year. According to new regulations that included the possibility of obtaining the visa electronically or upon arrival at one of the entry ports. It also does not require the presence of a companion for a woman, or the necessity for her to wear the abaya. With the obligation to adhere to the system and public taste. According to the system of this visa, which is valid for one year. Multiple visits to the Kingdom can be carried out, not exceeding 90 days at a time, and citizens of 49 countries will benefit from the visa in its first stage, which is expected to represent about 80% of global travel expenditures and 75% of leisure trips in the world by 2030.

 

Anticipating the development of hotel tourism programs

Saudi Arabia is counting on increasing the tourism sector’s contribution to the national product, as Ahmed Al-Khatib, head of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, the Ministry of Tourism, announced that it has attracted investments estimated at 115 billion riyals until the time of the launch of the tourist visa, expecting in 2030 to receive 100 million visits annually to make the Kingdom in accordance with Vision 2030 It is among the 5 most welcoming countries for tourists, as it is now working to increase the capacity of its airports to 150 million passengers annually, and is also developing new tourist destinations such as the Future City “NEOM” and the Qiddiya Cultural City near Riyadh, in addition to a number of tourism and entertainment projects in the vicinity of the sea. the Red. The number of hotel rooms is expected to increase by an additional 500,000 rooms.

 

The Kingdom’s government support for the tourism sector

Tourism is receiving increasing support from the Saudi government, which is currently working on implementing comprehensive development processes for the tourism sector, including a number of major projects, modernizing and developing infrastructure, rehabilitating tourist and heritage sites, upgrading the accommodation sector, travel agencies and tourism services, and developing activities and events in tourist sites. As well as the development of tourism human resources. The Tourism Authority seeks to complete its mission towards transforming tourism into an economic sector that contributes increasingly effectively to the gross national product, supports the national economy, with revenues of up to 10%, and provides up to 1.6 million jobs in 2030.

 

The Saudi tourism sector contributed to the development of the gross domestic product by more than 7.2% in 2011, and the rate of Saudi employment in it exceeded 26% of the total number of workers in the tourism sector. Those who occupy 670,000 direct jobs, and this employment contributed to 9.1% of the total workforce in the Kingdom in the private sector.

 

According to the data of the World Tourism Organization, the share of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the number of tourist trips to the Middle East has reached 32%. A report presented at the World Economic Forum revealed that Saudi Arabia earned $76 billion from tourism in 2013, of which foreign tourists spent $48 billion, while local tourists spent 28 billion. In 2008, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization declared Mada’in Saleh (Al-Hijr) a World Heritage Site, thus becoming the first site in Saudi Arabia to join the list of World Heritage Sites. In 2010, Diriyah was added to the list, and in 2014 the historic Jeddah was added to the same list, and rock art in the Hail region was added in 2015 to be on the World Heritage List, as well as the Al-Ahsa Oasis in 2018. The Kingdom was ranked as the fourth tourist destination in the World Tourism Index for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries for the year 2014.

 

Types of tourism

Hajj and Umrah

Eco-tourism

Medical Tourism

Shopping Tourism

Business Tourism

Cultural tourism

Sports Tourism

 

Saudi Arabia is the first in the world in providing hotel tourism programs

The hospitality sector in Saudi Arabia is growing fastest among the 50 most populous countries in the world, according to a report by hotel data company STR.

This comes as part of the Vision 2030 initiative, where the Kingdom aims to attract 100 million visitors annually by the end of the current decade, which requires a significant increase in hotel rooms, as the projects being prepared are a strong sign that efforts are underway to achieve the goal.

As work is underway to add 73,057 hotel rooms in the pipeline through the planning, final planning, and construction phases, Saudi Arabia is expected to witness a significant 67.1% increase in room supply once all projects are completed over the next two to three years. The report considered the huge growth in hotel supply as testimony and evidence of the strength of the nation’s strong cultural and economic resources.

The projected increases are distributed across several regions of the country. 4 regions in the Kingdom out of 6 sub-markets are expected to witness an increase of more than 75% in the hotel supply.

While a large part of the targeted projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are concentrated in the holy city of Makkah. Where 28052 hotel rooms are being developed. Several other sub-markets across the Kingdom are set to increase hotel supply by 50% or more.

Capital

The report estimated the number of hotel rooms being added in the city of Riyadh, currently 13,165 hotel rooms. With an expected supply growth rate of 75.5%. As the West Coast witnesses, hotel projects may double the capacity of the hospitality sector. The number of rooms in the port of Jeddah on the Red Sea will increase approximately from 11507 to 22,705 rooms.

The report stated, “Overall, and based on the percentage growth. Sub-markets within the Kingdom represent the most robust hotel projects in the world today.”

Mecca and Al Madinah

On the other hand, while there is a healthy distribution of supply growth all over the Kingdom. The religious centers in Makkah and Madinah lead the largest expected increases.

The report also indicated that in terms of size, the hotels that are being developed or built are in Makkah and Madinah. Even more massive in terms of size, the numbers of rooms in each new hotel range from 315 to 558. in the two cities respectively, which is 4 times the average size of hotels being developed in the rest of the kingdom.

Globally, it is among the 11 largest hotel projects under development (in terms of the number of rooms). There are 6 in Saudi Arabia. Of these 5 in Mecca. This increase in the number of mega-hotels is a sign of the developers’ confidence that there will be a lot of demand to fill these rooms.

However, all these hotels under development are still not enough to meet the demand during the Hajj season. Which attracts 2 to 3 million pilgrims annually.

Moreover, more than 60% of the total targeted projects in the Kingdom are allocated to hotels targeting the higher segments. It bodes well for future price growth.

You can read more about the best major hotels in Saudi Arabia through this article