Saudi Arabia expects to attract about 100 million domestic and international visitors this year, with the tourism sector contributing almost 6 per cent to the kingdom's gross domestic product in 2023.
The country will close the year with about 30 million international tourists, which is nearly half of its goal of 70 million overseas visitors by 2030, Saudi Arabia's Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb told the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh this week.
Saudi Arabia has also revised upwards its 2030 target for total annual tourist trips – a figure that entails both domestic and international travellers – to 150 million from 100 million, the minister said.
Of the 150 million, it is aiming for an even split of about 75 million domestic tourists and 75 million international travellers, he said.
“Travel and tourism is a very important sector, it grows in excess of the global [economic] growth,” Mr Al Khateeb said.
“Definitely the expanding of the middle class in India and China will encourage further travel. The World Travel and Tourism Council is expecting international arrivals to double by 2032, which is very attractive for us.”
International tourism is continuing to recover from the pandemic as arrival numbers reached 84 per cent of pre-Covid levels between January and July 2023, according to the latest data from the UN World Tourism Organisation.
Leading the global sector's rebound are the Middle East, Europe and Africa, it said in its World Tourism Barometer report in September.
The Middle East reported the best results in the first seven months of the year, with tourist arrivals reaching 20 per cent above pre-pandemic levels.
Saudi Arabia this year expects to receive 30 million international tourists and about 75 million domestic visitors, according to the Tourism Minister.
That compares with the 79.4 million international tourist arrivals to France in 2022, making it the most visited country in Europe, according to SchengenVisaInfo.com.
Thailand, another tourism hotspot, attracted 11.15 million foreign visitors in 2022, according to its tourism ministry.
Saudi Arabia is seeking to accelerate its goal of becoming a global travel destination and one of the world's most visited countries.
It has earmarked $800 billion in tourism investments over the next decade, created the new airline Riyadh Air to bring people into the country and announced plans for a massive new airport in Riyadh to welcome 120 million passengers by 2030.
The kingdom has set a goal for the tourism sector to contribute 10 per cent to GDP by 2030, up from 3 per cent in 2019.
The push to attract more tourists is part of a wider plan to diversify the economy from oil.
Kingdom Holding, the investment vehicle controlled by billionaire Prince Al Waleed bin Talal, and Red Sea Global entered into a joint venture to develop a tourist resort that will be operated by the Four Seasons hotels and resorts group.
The companies will each hold 50 per cent of the joint venture through special purpose vehicles, Kingdom Holding said on Tuesday in a filing to the Tadawul stock exchange.
The project will be allocated a budget of about 2 billion Saudi riyals ($533 million), with Kingdom Holding and Red Sea Global each investing 258 million riyals. The remaining capital commitment will be financed by debt provided to the joint venture company.
Saudi Arabia emerged as the second-fastest growing tourism destination during the first quarter of 2023, according to the World Tourism Organisation’s data issued in May.
The country's travel and tourism sector will grow an average 11 per cent annually over the next decade, making it the Middle East's fastest-growing market, according to the WTTC.
By 2032, the sector’s contribution to Saudi Arabia's GDP could reach nearly 635 billion riyals, representing 17.1 per cent of the kingdom's total economy, it said in a July 2022 report.
In 2022, more than 93.5 million tourists visited Saudi Arabia – 77 million domestic and 16.5 million international visitors.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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What is safeguarding?
“Safeguarding, not just in sport, but in all walks of life, is making sure that policies are put in place that make sure your child is safe; when they attend a football club, a tennis club, that there are welfare officers at clubs who are qualified to a standard to make sure your child is safe in that environment,” Derek Bell explains.
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Friday
Saint-Etienne v Montpellier (10.45pm)
Saturday
Monaco v Caen (7pm)
Amiens v Bordeaux (10pm)
Angers v Toulouse (10pm)
Metz v Dijon (10pm)
Nantes v Guingamp (10pm)
Rennes v Lille (10pm)
Sunday
Nice v Strasbourg (5pm)
Troyes v Lyon (7pm)
Marseille v Paris Saint-Germain (11pm)
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Q&A with Dash Berlin
Welcome back. What was it like to return to RAK and to play for fans out here again?
It’s an amazing feeling to be back in the passionate UAE again. Seeing the fans having a great time that is what it’s all about.
You're currently touring the globe as part of your Legends of the Feels Tour. How important is it to you to include the Middle East in the schedule?
The tour is doing really well and is extensive and intensive at the same time travelling all over the globe. My Middle Eastern fans are very dear to me, it’s good to be back.
You mix tracks that people know and love, but you also have a visually impressive set too (graphics etc). Is that the secret recipe to Dash Berlin's live gigs?
People enjoying the combination of the music and visuals are the key factor in the success of the Legends Of The Feel tour 2018.
Have you had some time to explore Ras al Khaimah too? If so, what have you been up to?
Coming fresh out of Las Vegas where I continue my 7th annual year DJ residency at Marquee, I decided it was a perfect moment to catch some sun rays and enjoy the warm hospitality of Bab Al Bahr.
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