The pandemic has slowed down almost all economies around the world, including Saudi Arabia. To catch up with countries showing high economic growth rates, authorities have planned to invest around a trillion dollars to boost tourism in Saudi Arabia. The ambitious policy is planned to be implemented under the ‘Saudi 2030 Vision’ and the famous ‘Red Sea Project’.
Saudi 2030 Vision focuses on diverging sources of economic growth for the country. The traditional sources of religious tourism and oil dependency need to undergo a significant change. This change has been proposed in the ‘Red Sea Project’. According to this project, economic development will usher in the Kingdom through investment in non-oil sectors such as tourism, entertainment, education, and health. Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman al-Saud believes that Saudi can reach its zenith by prioritizing the tourism sector. Special special attention should be on non-religious tourism and not just on pilgrims going to Makkah and Madinah.
The new plan
The country has bagged the world-famous Lionel Messi as brand ambassador to boost tourism in Saudi Arabia. The country has really been working hard to make its boundaries more accessible to an international audience. The Riyadh Season, an entertainment festival, was launched in 2019 as a way to reinforce Saudi Vision 2030. The opening ceremony of last year’s Riyadh Season witnessed big names such as the famous wrestler, The Undertaker, and the American rap star, Pitbull. More than 7,00,000 people attended the festival. The festival is said to play a massive role in making the country a global tourist spot in the coming years.
Jeddah, the gateway to the Two Holy Mosques and the Red Sea, has also become the new hub of international activities. The city was recently flooded with tourists who came to attend the Red Sea International Film Festival and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The Formula 1 races were held for the first time in Saudi Arabia, which received a lot of global attention. Football events of international scale, like the Spanish Super Cup and the Italian Super Cup, were also pulled off smoothly by the country.
Fortifying tourism
The country was busy promoting and conducting many events during the pandemic years to accelerate the slow economic progress. At present, the country has almost reached its pre-pandemic economic growth. An elaborate tourism policy is being brewed to make Saudi Arabia stand out in the Middle Eastern region. As per the plans, a new national airline is going to work parallelly with the former national airline, Saudia. Both these airlines will focus on increasing the transit traffic that is coming to the country. Jeddah and Riyadh will be the two bases, where Jeddah will focus on religious tourism and Riyadh will focus on non-religious tourism.
Plans have also been made to increase Umrah pilgrims and include more and more guides specializing in different languages to overcome the linguistic barrier that exists. The tourism-friendly approach will also include the introduction of hi-tech technology that will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the tourism sector. With an elaborate tourism plan, the country aims at generating more jobs in this sector and attracting substantial foreign investments.
Saudi Arabia has to push its boundaries if it wants to outdo its main competitions in tourism. With privatization, increased employment, and more foreign direct investments, Saudi Arabia’s vision to transform into a global tourism economy does not seem impossible. However, only time can tell how things will unfold for the country.
