Riyadh-Agencies
During the next two years, the various regions of the Kingdom will witness the launch of a number of hotel projects amounting to 214 hotels ranging from five, four and three stars, given that the Saudi hotel investment market is promising, and that the total hotel investments planned by 2020 are estimated at 143.928 billion riyals, in addition to a number of tourism projects and towers that are currently being implemented in a number of regions of the Kingdom.

Development of tourist destinations

Development of tourist destinations
Dr. Salah Al-Bakhit, Vice President for Investment at the General Authority for Tourism and Antiquities, revealed that the Authority is working to develop a number of tourist destinations, including the Uqair Tourism Development Project, which has a development expenditure of 17 billion riyals, pointing out that the first phase of the project includes the establishment of 1364 hotel rooms with an estimated investment of 900 million riyals.
Al Bakhit pointed out that such hotel projects go in parallel with the directions of the state, explaining at the same time that these projects will provide more options with service levels and graduated prices that meet all desires, and contribute to reducing the high prices of hotel rooms, especially during the seasons.
He said that the hotel sector in the Kingdom in general and Riyadh in particular is witnessing an unprecedented qualitative leap, whether in the volume of investments that have entered this sector during the past two years or in the quality of these investments, which is reflected in the tourism growth witnessed by the city of Riyadh and the Kingdom in general. He added: ”Today we see a large number of hotel facilities under construction and in various degrees of classification, and we also saw during the previous recent period many international hotel names entering the Saudi market for the first time or as an expansion of their previous presence.

Tourism Accommodation Sector
Al-Bakhit pointed out that the General Authority for Tourism and Antiquities has made a program to make a qualitative leap in the tourist accommodation sector, as the program to develop the tourist accommodation sector in the Kingdom consists of several projects, including the institutional building project, which aims to create the appropriate structure to promote the accommodation sector and provide the necessary resources, by developing the structure of the licensing and quality department and the relevant departments in the General Secretariat of the Authority and the Authority's branches in the regions, and providing the necessary human needs for this.
Projects under construction
On the other hand, a report issued by the General Authority for Tourism and Antiquities indicated that the total number of hotel projects under construction in the Holy Capital is more than 100 towers, and a number of these hotel projects are close to completion, and at the forefront of these projects are the Jabal Omar project and the Kaaba Mountain project, which constitutes an important addition to the level of hotel hospitality services for pilgrims to perform the rituals with ease and tranquility.

The Jabal Kaaba project is located on a total area of 53,000 square meters containing six international towers with a capacity of 8,500 hotel rooms, with a total investment of 10 billion riyals, which constitutes a qualitative addition in the total number of hotel rooms overlooking the Haram.
The developer of the project, Abdul Latif Jameel Company, is close to completing the first phase of the project, which is expected to open in early 2013 as part of the Anjem Makkah hotel chain, through which the company seeks to add a new concept in the world of hospitality in order to achieve hospitality services worthy of visitors to the Holy Mosque. On a total area of 15,000 square meters, Jabal Omar is building 38 four-star and five-star hotels on the opposite side of the Holy Mosque on Ibrahim Al-Khalil Street, and is in the process of completing the first phase, the opening of which will be by the holy month of Ramadan of this year, with ten towers, where operating and management contracts were signed with five international five-star hotel companies: (Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Conrad and Hilton Suites) with a total of 13 thousand hotel rooms and 86 villas and residential apartments. The operation of this phase will require approximately 4,000 job opportunities.