Saudi Arabia is setting its sights on becoming a big player in global tourism this year, with the tourism minister laying out some exciting plans during the Manafea Forum in Madinah! 

Ahmed Al-Khateeb is feeling pretty optimistic about it all. By the end of 2023, the tourism sector chipped in about 5 percent to the GDP, and they’re aiming to double that to 10 percent by 2030. Al-Khateeb says they’ve got around 940,000 folks working in tourism and hospitality right now, but they’re hoping to bump that up to a cool 1 million by the end of the decade.

Hoping to reel in over 150 million visitors by 2030! 

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Following Saudi Arabia’s National Tourism Strategy, they’re hoping to reel in over 150 million visitors by 2030. The Kingdom is banking on tourism and entertainment to help diversify its economy away from oil revenues. Al-Khateeb gave a shout out to the Tourism Investment Enablers program, which is all about making life easier for private investors and smoothing out the investment process.

There are so many investments in different forms going into this goal! 

The Ministry of Tourism is dead set on getting Saudis ready for jobs in the industry, with over 100,000 folks getting trained up every year. Al-Khateeb is all about improving the experience for visitors, especially when it comes to historical sites and cool archaeological spots. The Tourism Development Fund (TDF) has pumped cash into over 50 projects to make this happen. With $4 billion in the bank, TDF is open for business and looking to hook up investors with sweet tourism opportunities all across Saudi Arabia.

Ambitious goals but keeping it simple and clear!

Al-Khateeb also mentioned that they’re keeping things simple and clear when it comes to the rules and regulations in the tourism game. They’ve even rolled out some new licenses to make it easier for guest facilities and hospitality joints to get up and running. And they’re putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to training, dropping over SR375 million ($99.9 million) a year on programs to skill up Saudis for jobs in the sector.

The Saudi tourism field is making waves and we expect nothing less!