100 million vacationers by 2030 – the government of Saudi Arabia, which is gaining popularity and has been actively developing the tourism and hospitality sector in recent years, has started to implement such an ambitious tourism goal. To achieve a goal that was unexpected for the rest of the world, the country invested a lot of money, in particular, in airplanes and the creation of a new airline, Riyadh Airlines.
According to The Wall Street Journal, we are talking about investments for $500 billion. With this money, entire resort tourist areas, including airports and skyscrapers, will be built. Probably, the state located on the Arabian Peninsula wants to compete with its neighbors, for example, the UAE and even become one of the leaders in the field of recreation.
Another step towards this has been taken: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the creation of a new airline, Riyadh Airlines, which will fly to 100 destinations. The carrier is expected to contribute $20 billion to Saudi Arabia’s non-oil GDP growth and create more than 200,000 direct and indirect jobs.
As the publication noted, Saudi Arabia is quite close to an agreement with the aviation giant Boeing on the creation of a fleet of modern aircraft equipped with the latest technologies. The authorities are ready to pay $35 billion for them and include a new airline in the fleet. The agreement also covers wide-body aircraft, which are typically used on long-haul flights.
The tourism development plan to be implemented by the kingdom has many pillars. By 2030, numerous projects will be involved in tourism, from the 248-meter-high Jeddah Tower to the Red Sea International Airport, from the Riyadh Metro to the Riyadh Sports Boulevard, and from theme parks to a luxury resort project on Sindala Island and King Salman Park.
Saudi Arabia, which took part in the prestigious ITB exhibition in Berlin for the first time this year and “suppressed” popular Turkey there, proved to the international tourism sector that it is serious about the development of resort and recreational tourism.
Background: Saudi Arabia is a desert-covered country that occupies most of the Arabian Peninsula and is washed by the waters of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. In the homeland of Islam, there are two main sacred mosques: Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, where Muslims make the annual hajj, and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina, the burial place of the Prophet Muhammad. The capital of the country – Riyadh – is a huge city, the silhouette of which is formed by numerous skyscrapers.