The latest studies and data provided by the Tourism Information and Research Center (MAS) indicate a 43 % increase in the number of tourists expected to visit the Kingdom by 2020, as stated by Deloitte at the Vision conference held recently in Jeddah.
According to figures released by the center, estimates indicate that the number of international trips to Saudi Arabia will rise from 18 million in 2015 to 25.8 million in 2020.
Grant Salter, head of travel, hospitality, and leisure consulting for the Middle East at a major firm, confirmed that the Kingdom is indeed seeing strong tourism figures, and that hotel occupancy rates have been relatively high by historical standards. More than 49,000 new hotel rooms are under construction or in the final planning stages across the country to meet the demand generated by this significant increase in tourist numbers.
Meanwhile, Ismail Al-Kamal, director of a leading development company in Saudi Arabia, revealed that his company undertook a major renovation of the Hilton Hotel in Mecca, during which it installed two new restaurants and three elevators serving 30 floors, while the hotel maintained an occupancy rate of 100 TP3T.It should be noted that the 2016 Saudi Hotel Supplies Exhibition, was organized by Al-Mays Arabia in partnership with DMG Events.
