Saudi Arabia needs to inject $200 billion into tourism sector over next decade

Published 23 Dec,2020 via Asharq Alawsat (English Edition) - Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khatib affirmed that the Kingdom has everything required to realize its ambitious plan to become one of the world’s primary tourism destinations.

Khatib pushed back against suggestions that the Kingdom had been “overly ambitious” when it set the goal of 100 million touristic visits by 2030. He also called on investors to take part in developing this “emerging sector” by joining forces with the Kingdom and contributing to the $ 200 billion that must be put into this sector over the next decade to help build what he described as a “virgin sector” where first movers will benefit tremendously.

In his interview with the “Frankly Speaking” program of the Saudi Arab News newspaper, he said: “We opened our doors and hearts to international tourists to come and explore Saudi Arabia and experience Saudi Arabia, and experience our culture, our nature, our pristine and great beaches of the Red Sea or the East Coast and our major cities. Therefore, you know we believe we can get a big share of the 1.4 billion tourists who traveled back in 2019,” “Our target is indeed ambitious. However, we have everything we need to achieve our target.”