The ancient city of Mada’in Saleh is a Unesco World Heritage Site. The government has allocated US$5 billion to enhance culture. Vivian Nereim / Bloomberg
The ancient city of Mada’in Saleh is a Unesco World Heritage Site. The government has allocated US$5 billion to enhance culture. Vivian Nereim / Bloomberg
The ancient city of Mada’in Saleh is a Unesco World Heritage Site. The government has allocated US$5 billion to enhance culture. Vivian Nereim / Bloomberg
The ancient city of Mada’in Saleh is a Unesco World Heritage Site. The government has allocated US$5 billion to enhance culture. Vivian Nereim / Bloomberg

Saudis await visitors but will they come?


  • English
  • Arabic

RIYADH // It’s the day before the grand opening of Shaden, a luxury desert camp in Saudi Arabia where air-conditioned tents look out on sandstone cliffs. A princely delegation is on its way. But the place isn’t quite ready.

Peacocks for the garden of the 10,000-riyals-a-night royal suite have not arrived. The cow brought in to provide fresh milk for the cafe has been mooing all night. “He won’t shut up,” laments Ahmed Al Said, the project developer, as he gives orders over the clang of hammers and shovels.

Saudi Arabia as a whole isn’t ready for tourists either. But its rulers are intent on revolutionising the economy, and tourism is high on their list. They figure it can create jobs for a youthful population, earn revenue to reduce oil-dependence, and help open the kingdom to the world. Which it might – if anyone can be persuaded to come.

The country attracts plenty of foreign travellers – about 18 million last year, the most in the Arab world. But they are almost all Muslim pilgrims visiting Mecca. Regular tourism barely exists.

Saudi Arabia does not even issue tourist visas. Its alcohol ban, strict dress code and curbs on gender mixing are red flags for many people who would be happy to visit Dubai’s beaches or Egypt’s pyramids.

Then there are the secret police, who often keep a close watch on foreign visitors, and the religious police, who chastise people for moral violations.

“There are aspects of Saudi that will put people off,” said Jarrod Kyte, product director at UK tour company Steppes Travel.

Not all people, though – which is why Steppes is offering its first tour to Saudi Arabia next month. It cost almost US$6,000 (Dh22,000) per person, and was hard to arrange because it required invitational visas. But Mr Kyte said it was irresistible to seasoned travellers who wanted to check an unusual country off their list. He is hoping to do it again: “It became very apparent there was demand there.”

That is what the Saudi government is keen to capitalise on. Its post-oil plan, known as Vision 2030, includes measures to encourage the entertainment industry and develop coastlines and historical sites – like Al Ula, where the Shaden resort is going up. Nearby are the 2,000-year-old ruins of Mada’in Saleh, a relic of the same ancient civilization that built the better-known city of Petra in Jordan.

In charge of the tourism drive is Prince Sultan bin Salman, head of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage and a son of the king. He said the kingdom is finally waking up to ideas he has been promoting for years.

“A lot has been invested, not in the tourism sites as we would like to see it, but the supporting infrastructure – airports and roads and so on,” Prince Sultan said in Riyadh. He dismissed concerns that opening up the conservative kingdom to foreigners would cause trouble.

“People would say the social environment isn’t right,” he said. “I keep telling them: the social environment will follow. And that is what’s happening today.”

Prince Sultan reels off a list of museums that are about to open and others he plans to commission. They will let Muslims learn about Islam in the place where it was born, he said. The religious dimension may help win backing from Saudi Arabia’s powerful clerics, who often oppose change.

Investment in cultural heritage is underway too: the government has set aside 5 billion riyals (Dh4.77bn). It’s also encouraging private spending by companies like Jeddah-based Al Jazirah Safari, which is building the Shaden resort, a 100 million-riyal project.

Some Saudis who live there are looking forward to the opportunities. Farmer Ahmed Al Masoud plans to turn his orange groves into a resort where he will teach tourists about traditional agriculture. Businessman Faras Al Harby is importing souvenirs from China.

They are all waiting for one thing: tourists. On a recent afternoon, 56-year-old Birgit Mitchell had the place pretty much to herself. An American teacher who lives in Saudi Arabia, she took the bus there, playing her guitar for Saudi women at rest stops along the way. “Wow, I can’t believe we can just walk here,” she said, popping in and out of the carved tombs.

Most visitors are Saudi residents, like Ms Mitchell, or citizens of other Gulf countries, who do not need visas. The government has not said when it will start issuing tourist visas.

“The visa is the axis for the numbers that will come,” said Ahmad Al Fadhel, co-owner of another camp nearby. But he sees a chicken-and-egg problem with the government’s plans too: “Investors don’t want to come because tourists haven’t come, and tourists don’t want to come because the services haven’t come.”

Turmoil in the Middle East has kept visitors away even from established destinations like Egypt. Saudi Arabia – though more stable than many neighbors – is not immune. In 2007, four Frenchmen on their way back from Mada’in Saleh were killed by militants.

That is one reason local schoolteacher Ahmed Al Imam, who works part-time as a tour guide, does not plan to give up his day-job even if visa curbs are lifted and visitors pour in. “Imagine if I quit teaching,” he said, snapping his fingers, “and one night a crazy person did something wrong. Tourism will stop.”

The week the new camp opened, there was a programme of Saudi films in Al Ula – projected onto a cliff, because there are no movie theaters in the kingdom. There had been some grumbling beforehand about the corrupting influence of such a show. In the event, men and women gathered in their cars to watch, and vendors hawked tea under the stars.

* Bloomberg

Russia's Muslim Heartlands

Dominic Rubin, Oxford

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Labour dispute

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- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

'How To Build A Boat'
Jonathan Gornall, Simon & Schuster

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Baftas 2020 winners

BEST FILM

  • 1917 - Pippa Harris, Callum McDougall, Sam Mendes, Jayne-Ann Tenggren
  • THE IRISHMAN - Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, Martin Scorsese, Emma Tillinger Koskoff
  • JOKER - Bradley Cooper, Todd Phillips, Emma Tillinger Koskoff
  • ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - David Heyman, Shannon McIntosh, Quentin Tarantino
  • PARASITE - Bong Joon-ho, Kwak Sin-ae

DIRECTOR

  • 1917 - Sam Mendes
  • THE IRISHMAN - Martin Scorsese
  • JOKER - Todd Phillips
  • ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Quentin Tarantino
  • PARASITE - Bong Joon-ho

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

  • 1917 - Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, Callum McDougall, Jayne-Ann Tenggren, Krysty Wilson-Cairns
  • BAIT - Mark Jenkin, Kate Byers, Linn Waite
  • FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
  • ROCKETMAN - Dexter Fletcher, Adam Bohling, David Furnish, David Reid, Matthew Vaughn, Lee Hall
  • SORRY WE MISSED YOU  - Ken Loach, Rebecca O’Brien, Paul Laverty
  • THE TWO POPES - Fernando Meirelles, Jonathan Eirich, Dan Lin, Tracey Seaward, Anthony McCarten

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

  • THE FAREWELL - Lulu Wang, Daniele Melia
  • FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
  • PAIN AND GLORY - Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar
  • PARASITE - Bong Joon-ho
  • PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE - Céline Sciamma, Bénédicte Couvreur

LEADING ACTRESS

  • JESSIE BUCKLEY - Wild Rose
  • SCARLETT JOHANSSON - Marriage Story
  • SAOIRSE RONAN - Little Women
  • CHARLIZE THERON - Bombshell
  • RENÉE ZELLWEGER - Judy

LEADING ACTOR

  • LEONARDO DICAPRIO - Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood
  • ADAM DRIVER - Marriage Story
  • TARON EGERTON - Rocketman
  • JOAQUIN PHOENIX - Joker
  • JONATHAN PRYCE - The Two Popes

SUPPORTING ACTOR

  • TOM HANKS - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
  • ANTHONY HOPKINS - The Two Popes
  • AL PACINO - The Irishman
  • JOE PESCI - The Irishman
  • BRAD PITT - Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

  • LAURA DERN - Marriage Story
  • SCARLETT JOHANSSON - Jojo Rabbit
  • FLORENCE PUGH - Little Women
  • MARGOT ROBBIE - Bombshell
  • MARGOT ROBBIE - Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

  • THE IRISHMAN - Steven Zaillian
  • JOJO RABBIT - Taika Waititi
  • JOKER - Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
  • LITTLE WOMEN - Greta Gerwig
  • THE TWO POPES - Anthony McCarten

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

  • BOOKSMART - Susanna Fogel, Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Katie Silberman
  • KNIVES OUT - Rian Johnson
  • MARRIAGE STORY - Noah Baumbach
  • ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Quentin Tarantino
  • PARASITE - Han Jin Won, Bong Joon ho

DOCUMENTARY

  • AMERICAN FACTORY - Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert
  • APOLLO 11 - Todd Douglas Miller
  • DIEGO MARADONA - Asif Kapadia
  • FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
  • THE GREAT HACK - Karim Amer, Jehane Noujaime

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER

  • BAIT - Mark Jenkin (Writer/Director), Kate Byers, Linn Waite (Producers)
  • FOR SAMA - Waad al-Kateab (Director/Producer), Edward Watts (Director)
  • MAIDEN - Alex Holmes (Director)
  • ONLY YOU - Harry Wootliff (Writer/Director)
  • RETABLO - Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio (Writer/Director)

ANIMATED FILM

  • FROZEN 2 - Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Peter Del Vecho
  • KLAUS - Sergio Pablos, Jinko Gotoh
  • A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE: FARMAGEDDON - Will Becher, Richard Phelan, Paul Kewley
  • TOY STORY 4 - Josh Cooley, Mark Nielsen

CASTING

  • JOKER - Shayna Markowitz
  • MARRIAGE STORY - Douglas Aibel, Francine Maisler
  • ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Victoria Thomas
  • THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD - Sarah Crowe
  • THE TWO POPES - Nina Gold

EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)

  • AWKWAFINA
  • JACK LOWDEN
  • KAITLYN DEVER
  • KELVIN HARRISON JR.
  • MICHEAL WARD

CINEMATOGRAPHY

  • 1917 - Roger Deakins
  • THE IRISHMAN - Rodrigo Prieto
  • JOKER - Lawrence Sher
  • LE MANS ’66 - Phedon Papamichael
  • THE LIGHTHOUSE - Jarin Blaschke

EDITING

  • THE IRISHMAN - Thelma Schoonmaker
  • JOJO RABBIT - Tom Eagles
  • JOKER - Jeff Groth
  • LE MANS ’66 - Andrew Buckland, Michael McCusker
  • ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Fred Raskin

COSTUME DESIGN

  • THE IRISHMAN - Christopher Peterson, Sandy Powell
  • JOJO RABBIT - Mayes C. Rubeo
  • JUDY - Jany Temime
  • LITTLE WOMEN - Jacqueline Durran
  • ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Arianne Phillips

PRODUCTION DESIGN

  • 1917 - Dennis Gassner, Lee Sandales
  • THE IRISHMAN - Bob Shaw, Regina Graves
  • JOJO RABBIT - Ra Vincent, Nora Sopková
  • JOKER - Mark Friedberg, Kris Moran
  • ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD - Barbara Ling, Nancy Haigh

SOUND

  • 1917 - Scott Millan, Oliver Tarney, Rachael Tate, Mark Taylor, Stuart Wilson
  • JOKER - Tod Maitland, Alan Robert Murray, Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic
  • LE MANS ’66 - David Giammarco, Paul Massey, Steven A. Morrow, Donald Sylvester
  • ROCKETMAN - Matthew Collinge, John Hayes, Mike Prestwood Smith, Danny Sheehan
  • STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - David Acord, Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio, Stuart Wilson, Matthew Wood

ORIGINAL SCORE

  • 1917 - Thomas Newman
  • JOJO RABBIT - Michael Giacchino
  • JOKER - Hildur Guđnadóttir
  • LITTLE WOMEN - Alexandre Desplat
  • STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - John Williams

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

  • 1917 - Greg Butler, Guillaume Rocheron, Dominic Tuohy
  • AVENGERS: ENDGAME - Dan Deleeuw, Dan Sudick
  • THE IRISHMAN - Leandro Estebecorena, Stephane Grabli, Pablo Helman
  • THE LION KING - Andrew R. Jones, Robert Legato, Elliot Newman, Adam Valdez
  • STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - Roger Guyett, Paul Kavanagh, Neal Scanlan, Dominic Tuohy

MAKE UP & HAIR

  • 1917 - Naomi Donne
  • BOMBSHELL - Vivian Baker, Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan
  • JOKER - Kay Georgiou, Nicki Ledermann
  • JUDY - Jeremy Woodhead
  • ROCKETMAN - Lizzie Yianni Georgiou

BRITISH SHORT FILM

  • AZAAR - Myriam Raja, Nathanael Baring
  • GOLDFISH - Hector Dockrill, Harri Kamalanathan, Benedict Turnbull, Laura Dockrill
  • KAMALI - Sasha Rainbow, Rosalind Croad
  • LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WARZONE (IF YOU’RE A GIRL) - Carol Dysinger, Elena Andreicheva
  • THE TRAP - Lena Headey, Anthony Fitzgerald

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION

  • GRANDAD WAS A ROMANTIC - Maryam Mohajer
  • IN HER BOOTS - Kathrin Steinbacher
  • THE MAGIC BOAT  - Naaman Azh
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