Saudi Arabia’s booming tourism sector is looking to attract more investment from Asia as it opens doors to international collaboration and spending.
The Ministry of Tourism participated in the International Hospitality Investment Forum (IHIF Asia), held from September 9 to 11 in Hong Kong, to highlight the various investment opportunities available in the Kingdom’s tourism sector to international investors.
The ministry emphasised the significant progress achieved by the Kingdom’s tourism sector in recent years, with over 109m tourists visiting in 2023, including 27m international tourists and over 20.9m tourists from Asia. These visitors spent a total of $25.7bn.
General Manager of Investment Planning and Attraction at the Saudi Ministry of Tourism Tareq Al Shaghrood participated in a panel discussion titled “Invest, Enable, Prosper: Empowering Tourism Destinations,” where he outlined the Kingdom’s strategic approach to developing a world-class, diverse tourism ecosystem.
He noted that Saudi Arabia’s commitment to creating a wide array of tourism experiences—from cultural heritage and adventure tourism to luxury and eco-tourism—is underpinned by a robust framework of incentives and support for investors.
Al Shaghrood added that the Kingdom has introduced the Tourism Investment Enablers Program to facilitate business in the Saudi tourism sector. The Hospitality Investment Enablers initiative, part of the program, offers multiple opportunities for investors to invest in hospitality facilities in the Kingdom.
It is designed to significantly boost accommodation capacity in key tourism areas, driving private investments up to $11bn and increasing annual GDP by $4.3bn by 2030.
The initiative also aims to create 120,000 new jobs, supporting Saudi Arabia’s broader economic diversification goals. It introduces key incentives such as corporate tax exemptions, VAT reductions, and access to government-owned land under favourable terms, making it easier and more cost-effective for investors to enter the market.
The ministry encouraged investors attending the event to take advantage of the significant developments unfolding in the Kingdom’s tourism sector, highlighting that the Kingdom’s tourism potential lies in its robust infrastructure, strategic location, and unwavering commitment to sustainable growth.
Saudi Arabia’s international tourism performance in 2023 was impressive, ranking 14th globally in international arrivals—an improvement of 11 positions since 2019.
The Kingdom also ranked 12th globally in international tourism receipts, moving up 15 positions compared to 2019.
According to the UN Tourism Barometer for May 2024, Saudi Arabia ranked first among the best-performing large tourism destinations in terms of the growth rate of international arrivals and tourism receipts compared to pre-pandemic levels.
