Business, heritage seen to drive Saudi tourism

Hospitality players in Saudi Arabia are planning to expand their offerings to cater to visitors traveling to the kingdom for business and cultural heritage tourism.

A number of firms within the market have already mapped out expansion plans as they prepare for an influx of new visitors. Industry experts told Argaam that there is plenty of room for more growth in the near term.

By 2017, Rotana plans to open six new hotels in Riyadh, Jeddah, Al Khobar and Dammam, making an additional 1,400 rooms and suites available to visitors.

“Saudi Arabia is attracting a large share of the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) business and could be positioned alongside Dubai in terms of capitalizing on the huge growth potential,” said Mohamad Haj Hassan, Rotana Hotels’ area vice-president for Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Sudan.

Riyadh is already a major focus of several key projects aimed at attracting corporate clients, he explained. The King Abdullah Financial District stands among country’s most ambitious projects, while expansion work on the Riyadh Convention & Exhibition Centre is ongoing.

Hassan said the Saudi cabinet’s recent decision to form the kingdom’s Exhibition and Convention Bureau aims to “develop the area of exhibitions and conferences in economic, cultural and social sectors that will boost business tourism.”

Growing and diversifying the tourism sector is also a key part of the recently unveiled National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020. Under the economic reform plan, the sector’s contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) will be raised to 3.1 percent from the current 2.9 percent.

In the past, the kingdom’s tourism push has mainly been focused on religious tourism— specifically the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages. However, other industry players say there are plenty of other opportunities to explore beyond this segment.

“While this industry has been slow to find its feet, we are seeing a steady increase in international tourists – by the true definition of the word tourist – coming to see and understand the cultural differentiators in Saudi Arabia,” Rolf Lippuner, general manager at Four Seasons Hotel-Riyadh, said.

He added that he believes the country has a lot to offer any tourist looking for “something different.”

But in order to accommodate a new wave of tourists, infrastructure will need to be scaled up to ensure strong domestic and international demand, according to Muhammad Chbib, CEO of online travel platform Tajawal.

“I think there is an understanding at the government level that there is a need for a change there,” he said, adding that he expects more development and investment in the sector going forward.

Tajawal, meanwhile, is currently experimenting with new products that are tailored to suit the changing demands within the industry.

“In general, we are looking in the sector of Islamic-conformed tourism … both religious tourism and halal family tourism,” Chbib added.

Write to Nadeshda Zareen at nadeshda.zareen@argaamplus.com