Under the framework of Vision 2030, overseen by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), Saudi Arabia’s government is fully committed to advancing the tourism industry and supporting tourism-related businesses and projects. These initiatives have budgets exceeding billions of dollars, despite the fact that the projects do not generate enough revenue to cover the Kingdom’s expenses.
Based on the aspirations of MBS, the Saudi government claimed that, following massive investments in the tourism sector, it would draw in $80 billion from industry projects.
According to the Saudi Minister of Tourism, Ahmed Al-Khatib, the government of the MBS had exaggerated its goals, saying that by 2030 the country would aim to welcome 150 million visitors annually, of which 45 million would come from outside the Kingdom.
The Saudi Minister of Tourism went on to say that the Saudi Crown Prince’s Vision 2030 intends to invest $800 billion in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s tourism industry in order to grow and present it to the outside world.
According to the Bloomberg Agency, Saudi government representatives stated that the Kingdom is eager to split the financial cost of its ambitions to rank among the world’s most popular travel destinations and that it has recorded the arrival of over 100 million tourists in 2023. Nevertheless, the data and indicators demonstrated that the vast majority of these individuals are citizens of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and that the majority of visitors to the Kingdom do so solely for the purpose of performing Islamic religious rituals, such as the Hajj and Umrah, rather than for tourism purposes, as promoted by Kingdom officials. A tiny portion of visitors who travel to Saudi Arabia for leisure are not included in the statistics of the tourism industry.
It is peculiar that the Kingdom’s hopes coincide with the announcement by Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan of the postponement and suspension of some Vision 2030 projects. Al-Jadaan claimed that the Saudi economy would benefit from the postponement or temporary halt of these projects, and that all plans needed to be reviewed based on employment, quality of life, and social and economic returns, among other factors. It also meant that certain projects would need to have their work accelerated in accordance with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia’s vision and request.
The Saudi Minister of Tourism stated in an interview with CNN that the Kingdom will face a major crisis over the next ten years, despite its efforts to attract tourists from abroad in numbers that exceed expectations to demonstrate success. The Minister believes that these challenges will be difficult for the tourism sector because of the significant internal, external, and economic difficulties that the Kingdom will face.
Stay tuned for more to come about the illusions of Saudi tourism.
