Exploring the $800 Billion Travel Destination Transformation in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is building private islands, luxury hotels, theme parks, cruise ports, and even a desert ski resort. The question is: Who will come?
Visualizing the vast physical transformation taking place in Saudi Arabia can be a challenge. Within NEOM, an ambitious $500-billion region located in northwest Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom is busy constructing new cities, resorts, and other developments. These projects include the luxurious Sindalah private island and the seemingly impossible Trojena desert ski resort. Funded by the Kingdom’s $700-billion Public Investment Fund (PIF), NEOM is a key part of Vision 2030, a grand plan to reduce Saudi Arabia’s dependence on oil and transform it into a leading global tourism destination.
As Euromonitor predicts, international tourists will spend $38 billion in 2030. But Saudi Arabia will experience a far greater economic impact after adding domestic travelers’ expenditures and the ripple effect of creating one million new jobs in tourism. Tourism is projected to contribute almost $169 billion to Saudi Arabia’s GDP by 2032, accounting for 17.1% of the total Saudi economy, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council.
