GENEVA — Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb said that Saudi Arabia aspires to attract 150 million visitors by 2030 and that tourism sector will contribute SR750 billion to the national economy. The minister made the remarks while addressing the Real Estate Future Forum in Riyadh on Monday. "We have the vision and plans to provide infrastructure and services and everything that tourists are looking for. Saudi Arabia will become one of the most important countries in the world in the tourism and travel sector after the completion of infrastructure projects," he said while noting that Saudi Arabia is keen on ensuring involvement of the Saudi human element in the tourism sector, and there is a huge demand by the sons and daughters of the country to work in this sector. Al-Khateeb congratulated Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman for the recovery achieved by Saudi Arabia in the number of tourist arrivals during the year 2023 by 156 percent, compared to the year 2019, exceeding the global rate of recovery from the effects of the pandemic by 88 percent. The minister noted that the successes achieved in the tourism sector confirm that the strategies and plans that were developed are now proceeding correctly. Last year the sector's contribution increased to 4.5 percent of GDP, and seven percent of non-oil GDP. "We created many jobs in the tourism sector, indicating that the state's expansion in establishing major projects was with the aim of developing the tourism sector and attracting investments to it, and competing for the 1.7 billion tourists in the world looking for all things available in Saudi Arabia," he said. The minister stressed that the quality of upcoming projects in the tourism sector related to hospitality facilities is very high, whether in hotels or resorts. "We have signed multiple agreements to enter major five-star hotels, and the finest hospitality facilities will be available in Saudi Arabia. After the issuance of the new tourism regulations, we began implementing monitoring and inspection campaigns to ensure compliance and we closed more than 250 hotels last year," he said. Al-Khateeb said Saudi Arabia is keen on raising the level of quality of services provided in this sector. "We also conducted a comprehensive review of the tourism market in Saudi Arabia, and began promoting tourist destinations at the international level with the aim of competing globally in the field of tourism," he added.
