At 2.14 million square kilometres,
Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the Middle East and the second largest in the entire Arab world
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Saudi Arabia, like most of its fellow GCC states, is a relatively new country. With a population of more than 29 million, the kingdom, which stretches from the Red Sea in the west to the Arabian Gulf in the east, is the largest of the seven countries on the Arabian Peninsula – and has also developed into the biggest and most important economy in the region. Unlike many of its neighbours, though,
Saudi Arabia has kept foreign infl uence at arm’s length until relatively recently. The accession to the throne of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in 2005 changed the kingdom’s relationship with the outside world, opening a new chapter in the nation’s history, with the monarch embracing the concept of using Saudi Arabia’s oil wealth to boost the country’s prosperity through economic diversifi cation. With this in mind, King Abdullah has
opened the doors to foreign investment and encouraged the promotion of leisure and business tourism. The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), established in 2000, is one of the kingdom’s main driving forces in the quest to preserve Saudi Arabia’s wealth through the creation of new self-sustaining industries. The SCTA’s remit is to execute a 20-year strategy to establish a robust
travel and tourism industry, generated by four core source markets: religious tourists visiting the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah; domestic tourists (encouraging Saudis to holiday at home); leisure visitors, with a focus on niche and special interest groups, particularly those interested in the kingdom’s history and heritage; and last, but by no means least, business – and MICE – visitors.
THE NUMBERS The direct contribution of travel and tourism to KSA’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was US$13.9 billion (SAR52.1 billion) or 2.2 percent of total GDP in 2012, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC’s) 2013 Economic Impact Report, Saudi Arabia. This was forecast to rise by 8.2 percent in 2013 and to four percent per annum from 2013 to 2023, to reach US$22.3 billion (SAR83.7 billion) in 2023. The travel and tourism sector’s
contribution to KSA’s GDP was US$33.4 billion (SAR125.1 billion) in 2012, forecast to rise by 6.7 percent in 2013 and again,
by four percent per annum to reach US$52.9 billion (SAR198.4 billion) in 2023. The WTTC report says the sector
supported 206,000 jobs in 2012 (2.3 percent of total employment), rising to 346,000 jobs (2.7 percent of total employment) by 2023. Investment in travel and tourism is also
on the up, according to the report, hitting US$5.5 billion (SAR20.6 billion) in 2012, or 4.9 percent of total investment and reaching US$8.2 billion (SAR30.9 billion) by 2023. Euromonitor International’s latest
1 Al Faisaliyah Center, Riyadh 2 Te Kingdom Centre shopping mall in Riyadh 3 Mosque of the Prophet, Al Madinah
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report on inbound tourism to Saudi Arabia (released in September 2013) reveals arrivals to the kingdom increased 10 percent in 2012 totalling 16.5 million trips. It attributes the high growth rate to a number of factors, including the SCTA’s efforts to “market the kingdom as a historic and natural destination with a spin on modern establishment”. The expansion of Hajj-related facilities
including better transport, expanded routes and improved roads, restaurants and accommodation, also played a key role, the report says. In fact, heavy government investment in expanding the religious cities generated a six percent increase in Hajj visitors to more than three million in 2012. Kuwait was the biggest tourism source
market that year, with three million trips registered. Arrivals from Kuwait also recorded the highest spending rates compared to other inbound visitors to KSA in 2012, with US$2 billion (SAR7.5 billion) spent by Kuwaitis on accommodation, restaurants, shopping and transportation. However, the biggest growth market
for tourism to Saudi Arabia in 2012 was the UAE with a 16 percent year-on-year increase in arrivals. “Many companies that operate and execute projects
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