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When Saudi Arabia announced its Vision 2030 back in 2016, some of the broad objectives it set itself to achieve included building an economy that sharply diversified itself away from a dependence on oil revenues, opening up the country and introducing reforms that would make it more welcoming and appealing to expats, and raising the kingdom’s overall profile on the global stage.
Eight years in, Saudi Arabia has handsomely blown past those initial objectives and moved the goalpost far further down the field. This year, the Arab world’s largest economy expects a total revenue of SAR1.172 trillion and a total expenditure of SAR1.251 trillion. It intends to keep up the pace with plans to increase spending to SAR1.3 trillion in 2025 and SAR1.368 trillion the following year.
The kingdom has made giant strides in opening itself up to visitors from around the world, most notably due to its expansive visa reforms. The country’s tourism sector really took root in 2019 when it began to roll out these visa reforms, and today, nationals from more than 59 countries as well as Schengen visa holders, and permanent residents of the UK, US, and any EU country are eligible for e-visas to visit Saudi Arabia. The country is targeting around 70 million overseas visitors annually by 2030.
One of the biggest test cases of what Vision 2030 would look like in its physical form is to examine the country’s capital Riyadh which is teeming with multi-billion-dollar projects. Last year, a new company, backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), was launched to build what was billed at the time as the world’s largest modern downtown in the Saudi capital. The New Murabba Development Company (NMDC) is tasked with the New Murabba project which is due to be completed by 2030. Spread over an area of 19 sq km, it will accommodate several hundred thousand residents. The numbers are simply staggering whereby it will offer over 25 million sqm of floor area, feature more than 104,000 residential units, 9,000 hotel rooms, and encompass in excess of 980,000 sqm of retail space. This downtown project alone is expected to add SAR180 billion to the kingdom’s non-oil GDP and create 334,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2030.
Riyadh is also the centre for three of the kingdom’s giga-projects, namely Diriyah, Qidddiya and ROSHN, all of which are backed by the PIF.
Diriyah meanwhile is a US$63.2 billion masterplan spread across 14 sq km and whose focal point is the UNESCO World Heritage Site of At-Turaif. It will have 38 hotels, museums, a retail district and more than 100 places to dine, with several restaurants already open within Diriyah’s Bujairi Terrace which is now operational.
The ROSHN Group meanwhile aims to build more than 400,000 homes by 2030 within the country and develop mixed-use spaces. SEDRA within Riyadh is its first project in the kingdom and will be built across eight phases and offer more than 30,000 homes. WAREFA is ROSHN’s second community in Riyadh and is located in the Al Janadriyah district.
![The upcoming Qiddiya City in Riyadh (Image: Supplied by Qiddiya)](https://cdn.businesstraveller.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Qiddiya-City.jpg)
As for Qiddiya, its first development will be Qiddiya City, located around 40 minutes from the centre of Riyadh. Qiddiya City is wholly dedicated to the themes of entertainment, sports and culture and will include a gaming and esports district, golf courses, and Six Flags Qiddiya as well as a multipurpose stadium. Contracts worth SAR10 billion have already been awarded for the project.
Building these mega projects to attract tens of millions of international visitors each year, means that the city also has to put in place a transport infrastructure to support that growth. That aim is being realised by way of a new King Salman International airport that has already been announced for Riyadh. Covering an area of 57 sq km, and featuring six parallel runways, this mega airport is being readied to accommodate up to 120 million travellers by 2030 and 185 million passengers annually by 2050 – besides contributing SAR27 billion each year to the kingdom’s non-oil GDP and creating 103,000 direct and indirect jobs.
![King Salman International Airport (Image: Supplied by press representative)](https://cdn.businesstraveller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Aerial-night.jpg)
In a major announcement, Saudi Arabia also unveiled plans for a brand-new airline last year which will be headquartered in the capital and called Riyadh Air. That airline has already placed orders for up to 72 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. “The aviation sector is a big part of the country’s Vision 2030 goals, so we’re working closely with the different partners to help fulfil these targets. Riyadh Air is supporting the ambition of Saudi Vision 2030 to triple annual travellers to 330 million and attract 150 million tourists to the kingdom by 2030. Our major contribution will be to connect Riyadh to the world with over 100 destinations to and from the kingdom’s capital by 2030. By connecting Asia, Africa and Europe, we are helping connect Saudi Arabia to the world,” Riyadh Air’s CEO Tony Douglas told Business Traveller. “The National Aviation Strategy is already making a positive impact on the kingdom’s aviation sector and this will only continue to grow when Riyadh Air makes its maiden flight in 2025.”
![Riyadh Air’s CEO Tony Douglas (Image: Supplied by Riyadh Air)](https://cdn.businesstraveller.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/TonyDouglas.jpg)
Riyadh’s singular focus on building a world-class city was rewarded recently when it won the bid to host World Expo 2030. Riyadh went up against two major cities, Busan and Rome, to emerge victorious during the final voting process held by the Bureau International des Expositions in Paris. It scored an overwhelming 119 votes, compared to 29 and 17 for the South Korean and Italian cities respectively.
The Riyadh Expo 2030 will be held from 1 October 2030 to 31 March 2031. According to internal projections revealed by the Saudi Tourism Authority in November, the event which will be held under the theme of “The Era of Change: Together for a Foresighted Tomorrow”, is predicted to welcome close to 40 million site visits. It is expected to have 246 unique event participants.
“It’s fantastic to have the Expo 2030 coming to Riyadh, it’s going to be a momentous occasion for the city and the entire kingdom. The kingdom is already used to hosting major, world-class events, particularly in sport, and Expo 2030 will be no different. We’re looking forward to seeing so many countries represented at the world’s fair in Riyadh,” says Douglas.
A precursor of what to expect from Expo 2030 will be present at the upcoming Expo 2025 in Osaka where Saudi Arabia will be participating with a Foster and Partners-designed pavilion. “Expo 2025 Osaka is an incredible platform for Saudi Arabia to demonstrate the wonders of its profound history and diverse culture to the world, showcasing the nation’s identity and its ambitious plans for the future. Our pavilion is one of over 160 international participants’ pavilions and is being designed to exhibit the diverse offerings of the kingdom. This will mean that visitors will witness a state-of-the-art structure symbolising a connection between historical legacy and future advancements. Our heritage is incredibly rich, and through the pavilion we will showcase examples of our story, with interactive exhibits and experiences to learn about Saudi’s past, present and vision for the future. This future includes valuable insight into the unique experiences visitors can expect in 2030 when Saudi Arabia will host the next World Expo,” notes Othman Almazyad, commissioner general of Saudi Arabia Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka.
![The UNESCO World Heritage Site of At-Turaif. (Image: Supplied by Diriyah)](https://cdn.businesstraveller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/SALWA-068.jpg)
Hosting the millions of visitors attending Expo 2030, as well as the millions more the kingdom hopes to attract over the next decade, would require a rapid expansion of its hospitality industry. “I believe that Expo 2030 will serve as a catalyst for growth and its impact on Saudi’s tourism sector will be felt immediately. Today, Saudi has over 400,000 hotel rooms which will be expanded to 854,000 new rooms by 2030,” Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO and member of the Board of Saudi Tourism said the day after Riyadh won the bid to host the Expo.
The growth in hospitality is being supported by most major hospitality groups. IHG, for example, currently operates 40 hotels across five brands in the kingdom, including InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Staybridge Suites, and voco. It has 36 hotels in the development pipeline within the country which are set to open within the next three to five years. Among them, is the ultra-luxury Regent Jeddah which will be the first Regent hotel in the Middle East when it opens later this year.
Hilton too has pledged to open more than 50 new hotels across 10 of its brands within Saudi Arabia. “Saudi Arabia is Hilton’s largest pipeline market in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and the fourth largest globally. The country is well on its way to becoming a world leader in travel and tourism, investing significantly in major tourism infrastructure and hosting world events such as Expo 2030,” says Fawaz Moumina, country manager and senior director of operations for Saudi Arabia at Hilton. “In the last few years, Hilton has ramped up its presence in Saudi Arabia and we continue to expand our footprint, aiming to reach more than 75 trading properties across the country. Our development pipeline will see the introduction of some of Hilton’s award-winning hospitality brands to both existing and emerging locations, including LXR Hotels and Resorts, Canopy by Hilton, Embassy Suites by Hilton, and Hampton by Hilton.”
![Fawaz Moumina, country manager and senior director of operations for Saudi Arabia at Hilton (Image: Supplied by Hilton)](https://cdn.businesstraveller.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Fawaz-Moumina-KSA-Country-Manager-and-Sr-Director-Ops-Hilton.jpg)
Marriott International meanwhile has been heavily focussed on two giga projects along the western coast of the country – namely The Red Sea and NEOM. Within The Red Sea development located along the country’s northwest coast, Marriott will imminently open the Nujuma, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve. The Red Sea is being designed as a regenerative destination that has a net positive effect on the local environment. NEOM meanwhile is one of the country’s most ambitious projects and includes several sub-developments. Among them are The Line which will be only 200m wide, but will span 170km in length and will be a vertically layered futuristic city; Oxagon will be a floating city and Sindalah is NEOM’s luxury island destination and will have an 86-berth marina, more than 400 ultra-premium hotel rooms and 300 top-end suites, as well as a golf course.
![](https://cdn.businesstraveller.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Canopy-by-Hilton-Porta-Jeddah_Render.jpg)
The two areas that Saudi Arabia is ensuring it pays close attention to while racing towards its 2030 goals are providing high-quality employment opportunities for its nationals and fulfilling its commitments to the subject of sustainability. A census conducted in 2022 revealed that Saudi’s population had reached 32.2 million, with 18.8 million of them being Saudi nationals. The proportion of Saudis under the age of 30 stood at 63 per cent, therefore representing a vast pool of the country’s workforce that has recently come into the job market or will be doing so over the coming decade. “As a digitally native nation with the average age of the population in the kingdom being 29, there’s a greater demand for its new national carrier to also be digital-first. The country has ambitious plans and is constantly evolving and innovating and this will only continue at an accelerated pace. We’re also contributing to the kingdom’s wider economic diversification by creating 200,000 jobs, both directly and indirectly,” says Riyadh Air’s Douglas.
Hilton’s Moumina adds, “We also continue to partner with local academic institutions, such as the Bunyan for Training in Saudi Arabia, providing students with first-hand hospitality experience and supporting government efforts to nurture homegrown talent. Many of these training and internship opportunities evolve into permanent employment opportunities for young talent.”
![The Line in NEOM (Image: Sourced from NEOM Media Gallery)](https://cdn.businesstraveller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/hrh-announces-theline-designs-cover.jpg)
As for sustainability, Vision 2030 envisages the kingdom meeting 50 per cent of its energy requirements from renewable sources and also setting Saudi Arabia on the path to a net zero future by 2060. Large scale projects such as The Red Sea and NEOM are all being built to rely on renewable energy from day one of opening to the public.
As the kingdom hurtles towards a path of unimpeded growth, Saudi Arabia has proved itself capable of going from strength to strength. The momentum that it has built thus far has unequivocally made it unstoppable.
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