Saudi Arabia aims to turn the country into a major tourism spot

Published on : Friday, April 21, 2017

At the WEF’s annual meeting in Davos in January, Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister said, “We are going to turn Saudi Arabia into a softer, more pleasant place to live.”

And the best way by which Saudi Arabia is planning to do this is by boosting the country’s tourism sector. It also plans to add to the Kingdom’s appeal as a place to visit, and as a place for Saudi citizens to spend their vacations, rather than traveling abroad.

Tourism is a significant part of Saudi economy, contributing around SR244 billion ($65 billion) in 2016, or around 10 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) as per a report from the WTTC. Tourism supports more than 1 million jobs in the Kingdom.

Plans are in the pipeline to build an “entertainment city” in the south of the capital Riyadh. The 334-square-kilometer development will include a Six Flags entertainment park, and will be a cultural landmark for recreational and social pastimes within the Kingdom.

This will restrict Saudis to travel to recreational locations outside the Kingdom. It will be a major boost for the national economy.