Launched by The Ministry of Tourism, in collaboration with the Ministry of Investment, launched the “Investment Opportunities in the Hospitality Sector” initiative, which is part of the "Investment Opportunities in the Tourism Sector" program recently launched by the Ministry, on the sidelines of the Future of Hospitality Summit held in Riyadh under the slogan "Invest in Saudi Arabia and Thrive in Tourism," in the presence of a number of local and international investors.
to strengthen the Kingdom’s position as a global tourism destination
Engineer Mahmoud Abdulhadi, Deputy Minister of Tourism for Tourism Destination Empowerment, explained that the Investment Opportunities Initiative in the hospitality sector, which is being carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Investment, is part of the Ministry of Tourism’s strategic objectives to strengthen the Kingdom’s position as a global tourism destination while providing significant investment opportunities for local and international investors. It has been specifically designed to suit the nature of promising tourism destinations and to stimulate investment in them, noting that the initiative aims to increase and diversify tourism offerings and raise the capacity of tourism hospitality facilities in tourist destinations.
He explained that the Hospitality Investment Opportunities Initiative seeks to attract private investment in the hospitality sector in specific tourist destinations, amounting to approximately 42 billion riyals, with estimated returns of approximately 16 billion riyals to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product by 2030, noting that the initiative will help create up to 120,000 additional jobs by 2030 in those destinations, in addition to its contribution to enhancing the Kingdom’s tourism infrastructure and hospitality facilities, noting that the Ministry of Tourism’s collaboration with a number of partners across various government sectors to improve the investor experience has resulted in a reduction in annual government fees related to the sector by approximately 22%, He emphasized the Ministry of Tourism’s commitment to collaborating with the Ministry of Investment and all other government agencies to advance the tourism sector in achieving the Vision 2030 targets related to diversifying the state’s general budget revenues, and increasing the sector’s contribution to GDP to 10% by 2030.
Providing more than 550,000 rooms
The initiative is part of the Tourism Investment Opportunities Program, which aims to achieve an ambitious increase in the number of hotel rooms to more than 550,000, which will help accommodate 150 million tourists annually by 2030, This initiative is designed to revitalize the hospitality sector, provide a high-quality range of accommodations in major tourist destinations, and enhance the appeal of the Kingdom’s diverse tourism offerings, It offers unique opportunities for local and international investors to participate in the sector’s growth and reap the benefits of the Kingdom’s tourism boom. The initiative includes a package of strategic incentives and measures specifically designed to improve the cost and ease of doing business, including facilitating access to government-owned land on favorable terms, streamlining project development processes, finding solutions to challenges investors may face, and revising a number of regulatory provisions.
For his part, the Deputy Minister of Ministry of Investment for Investment Development, Engineer Saleh Al-Khabti, emphasized the Ministry’s commitment to strengthening cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism in order to foster a conducive investment environment and incentivize local and international investors to support the promising tourism sector, emphasizing that, in light of the growing investment opportunities, the Ministry seeks to empower investors and provide the greatest possible facilities and flexibility in all related procedures, in order to achieve a highly efficient investment environment that facilitates doing business.
In addition, the Ministry of Tourism, represented by the Tourism Destinations Empowerment Agency, held multiple meetings with a number of local and international investors participating in the Future of Hospitality Summit, during which the Ministry reviewed the incentives it offers under the Investment Incentives Program for the Tourism Sector and the Investment Incentives Initiative for the Hospitality Sector, which includes a package of strategic incentives to improve the cost and ease of doing business. All investor inquiries and questions were also addressed during the meetings.
