Tourism Commission, SAGIA ink SAR 100 bln deals with domestic & international firms

The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage and The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) have signed on Friday a number of agreements and MoUs worth about SAR 100 billion with several domestic and International firms in the field of tourism.

The agreements disclosed today on the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Riyadh represent the promising opportunities of the Kingdom’s tourism sector and reflect the great potentials introduced by this sector locally and globally.

An agreement was concluded among Al Khozama Co., Mayasem and Harbour projects to work on investment projects in the fields of real estate, food and beverage, facilities management and service delivery.

Diriyah Gate Development Authority has signed a memorandum of understanding with Greg Norman to design the golf courses in Wadi Safar in addition to an agreement with Aman Resorts to build a 40-room hotel in Al Bujairi.

Saudi Arabian Airlines Co. (Saudia) has concluded a number of agreements and MoUs, the first of which was with NEOM to launch the first commercial flight to the city, while the second was with The Red Sea Development Co. to market for the Red Sea project as a global luxury tourist destination, and finally an agreement with the Royal Commission for Al-Ula.

The ceremony also witnessed the signing of memorandums of understanding between the Investment Authority and a number of different regional and international companies.

The Investment Authority signed a memorandum of understanding with Triple Five Group to develop a number of tourism, hotel and leisure projects around the Kingdom worth SAR 37.5 billion.

The authority has also signed a SAR 20 billion agreement with Majid Al Futtaim, to build a commercial and entertainment shopping mall with the largest indoor ice rink and Ice Park, the project is expected to provide up to 12,000 job opportunities.

 Meanwhile, SAGIA has signed MOUs with other firms with a total value of SAR 11 billion.

The Kingdom plans to increase the number of domestic and foreign tourists to 100 million by 2030, in an effort to increase the contribution of the tourism sector to the GDP by 10 percent compared to the current rate of 3 percent, in addition to creating a 1 million job opportunities.

During the Ceremony, SAGIA has issued two investment licenses worth a total of SAR  272.5 million for the Irish Kerten Hospitality Co., to develop a multi-purpose project portfolio around the Kingdom, and the UK-based Tetrapylon Co., to cooperate with tourism service providers from North America, Europe and Asia.

A number of companies including Seera Holding, Radisson Hotels, Shumool Real estate and Al Shaya Co. have also disclosed their intention to invest a total of SAR 36.25 million within the tourism sector in the kingdom.

The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) recently announced the issuance of 291 foreign investment licenses during Q2 2019, more than doubling compared to the same period last year and a 103 percent quarter-on-quarter increase with an average of five foreign investment licenses per day.