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Saudi Gazette report
HONG KONG — The Ministry of Tourism participated in the International Hospitality Investment Conference (IHIF Asia) in Hong Kong to showcase the great investment opportunities available in the tourism sector in Saudi Arabia.
The Director General of Investment Planning and Attraction at the Ministry, Tariq Al-Shaghroud, stressed Saudi Arabia’s commitment to providing a wide range of tourism experiences, and its continued provision of incentives and support to investors to take advantage of promising opportunities in the tourism sector.
Al-Shaghroud explained that the Tourism Investment Enablers Program (TIEP), launched by the Ministry, provides multiple opportunities for investment in the promising tourism sector, indicating that Hospitality Investment Enablers Initiative (HIE), which comes within the program, includes multiple opportunities for investors to invest in hospitality facilities in Saudi Arabia.
It aims to significantly enhance housing capacity in key tourist areas, drive private investments to SR42 billion, and increase annual GDP by SR16 billion by 2030.
The initiative also aims to create 120,000 new jobs, supporting Saudi Arabia’s broader economic diversification goals, and offers a number of key incentives such as corporate tax exemptions, VAT reductions, and access to government-owned land on favorable terms, making it easier and more cost-effective for investors to enter the market.
The Ministry highlighted the great progress achieved by the tourism sector in Saudi Arabia recently. It received more than 109 million tourists in 2023, including 27 million tourists from abroad — and more than 20.9 million of them from Asia — who spent SR96.6 billion.
These figures confirm the growing confidence that Asian markets enjoy in Saudi tourism and the encouraging investment opportunities it provides to investors. The continuous growth of the tourism sector also demonstrates Saudi Arabia’s attractiveness to Asian tourists.
The Ministry of Tourism has invited investors participating in the conference to seize the opportunity to be part of the great development witnessed by the tourism sector in Saudi Arabia.
The tourism sector made great leaps and achievements in 2023. It ranked 14th globally in the number of international arrivals — an increase of 11 places since 2019.
Saudi Arabia also ranked 12th globally in international tourism sector revenues, rising 15 places compared to 2019, according to the United Nations Tourism May 2024.
It has become the first among the best-performing major tourist destinations in terms of the growth rate of international tourist arrivals and tourism sector revenues compared to pre-pandemic levels.
