Saudi tourism has taken its rightful place within the economy and gross domestic product, serving as a key contributor to development projects, and as a testament to the Kingdom’s commitment to supporting the sector, the Council of Ministers recently approved 13 initiatives for the General Authority for Tourism and National Heritage at a cost exceeding 26 billion riyals, These initiatives consist of high-quality projects proposed by the Authority to the government since the adoption of the National Tourism Development Strategy and the subsequent programs that the Authority has worked to develop over the past decade with the aim of advancing the tourism and national heritage sector.
Initiatives to Complete Projects
Taken together, these initiatives represent a continuation of the Authority’s progress on projects in which it has already made significant strides in their establishment and implementation, with the National Transformation Program crowning the Authority’s success in preparing these projects, which represent promising opportunities ready for launch.
Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, President of the General Authority for Tourism and National Heritage, had emphasized that the leader of the National Transformation Program and pioneer of government development, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, has paid great attention to the tourism and national heritage sectors to enable them to perform their assigned roles, particularly the preservation of national heritage as the fundamental component of national identity and a source of strengthened citizenship, as well as supporting national tourism, given its important economic role and its ability to drive economic transformation toward diversifying sources of income, alongside regional development and the creation of job opportunities for citizens in their own regions.
Building an Economic Tourism Sector
The Authority has fulfilled all regulatory requirements and established an economic sector that is expected to receive the necessary support and enablement from both the government and private sectors so that it can fulfill its role during this critical economic phase. In this regard, Prince Sultan bin Salman, Chairman of the Tourism and National Heritage Authority, affirmed that since its establishment, the Authority has brought about a transformation in government work, and has worked to create a tourism environment for a fully integrated economic industry capable of serving as a major contributor to the national economy and a source of employment opportunities for citizens. The tourism sector has taken its place among the key pillars of ”Saudi Vision 2030" thanks to the significant efforts made to change perceptions, prepare society, and highlight the benefits of these two sectors—efforts the Authority has pursued over the past 15 years—shifting attitudes and beliefs toward these sectors from opposition to neutrality, and ultimately to full acceptance, even to the point of pressure and urgency to completeregulations and partnerships.
Museums and Archaeological Sites
The National Transformation Program has affirmed its support for a number of projects, allocating significant funds to develop components of the national cultural heritage, including 17 handicraft centers, 18 heritage sites, 18 museums, 80 archaeological sites, and six UNESCO World Heritage sites—adding to the four previously registered sites to bring the total to ten.
In the area of tourism destination development, the National Transformation Program approved the development of four tourism destinations endorsed by the state in 1425 AH, and the Commission completed all requirements for launching these destinations, namely the Farasan Islands, the Souk Okaz City in Taif, Al-Ula, and Al-Ras Al-Abyad Beach in Al-Rays, in the Madinah region.
Development of Souk Okaz and Al-Aqeer
The National Transformation Program has also allocated a budget of 861 million riyals for the Souk Okaz City project to develop the first phase, of which 244 million riyals are earmarked for projects by the General Authority for Tourism and National Heritage and 651 million riyals are allocated for the construction of infrastructure both on and off-site, noting that the private sector is contributing approximately 1,291 million riyals to the development, bringing the total expected investment in the first phase to nearly two billion riyals.
The program also endorsed the Authority’s initiative to develop the Al-Aqeer tourist destination in Al-Ahsa by approving the establishment of the Al-Aqeer Development Company to oversee the development of an integrated tourist destination on Al-Aqeer Beach in the Eastern Province, to serve as a model for integrated and attractive tourist destinations in the Kingdom.
The "Live Saudi Arabia“ Program
The National Transformation is supported by the "Live Saudi Arabia" program, which the Authority began implementing this year through a joint collaborative initiative between the "Tourism Authority,” the General Authority for Sports, and the Ministry of Education. The program aims to organize student trips to visit various sites within the Kingdom, funded through public-private partnerships. The financing guarantee initiative aims to facilitate commercial financial institutions’ funding of tourism and heritage projects by guaranteeing loan repayment to these institutions in the event of default or non-payment, This will enable the investment of 300 million Saudi riyals as collateral to secure 1.5 billion Saudi riyals in guaranteed project financing for tourism and heritage projects.
With regard to the lending program for hotel and tourism projects, in which the Authority is collaborating with the Ministry of Finance, the National Transformation Program has allocated 3 billion riyals from its financial resources over five years to a fund under the Ministry of Finance dedicated to providing interest-free loans to investors operating in thetourism sector.
