Okaz/Saudi Gazette HAIL – Saudi Arabia requires more than 48,000 additional hotel rooms to accommodate growing numbers of domestic and foreign tourists, estimated to reach about 140 million by 2020, according to the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH). "This offers a golden opportunity for the private sector to invest in the Kingdom's profitable hospitality industry," said a SCTH official, who requested anonymity. "The commission expects 128 million domestic tourists and 13.1 million foreign tourists, mainly from the neighboring Gulf and Arab countries, by 2020," the official said. Spending by domestic tourists is expected to rise from SR50 billion to SR78 billion during the same period. Foreign tourist spending will jump from SR12 billion to SR23 billion. "As a result the Kingdom's tourism revenue would increase from SR63 billion to SR101 billion with tourists spending 807 million nights in the country by 2020," he said. As part of the Vision 2030 reform program, Saudi Arabia intends to develop the Kingdom's 1,300 islands – 1,150 in the Red Sea and 150 in the Arabian Gulf – through massive public and private investment in order to exploit their marvelous tourism potentials. "These islands have fantastic tourism potentials," said the official. "They are rich with coral reefs, sandy beaches, mountainous terrain and greenery. Tourists can engage in trekking, fishing, diving, boating and bathing on these islands in all seasons of the year," he explained. The Vision 2030 statement has emphasized that the tourist locations would be developed according to international standards while the government would facilitate issuance of visas to prospective visitors and tourists. The SCTH has identified 75 islands for tourism investment. It believes that Jabal Al-Laith island near Al-Laith principality could attract a large number of Haj and Umrah pilgrims once developed. "Jabal Al-Laith is the main island in the area and there are 12 small islands and all of them are located about 11.5 nautical miles from Al-Laith city," the official said. Spread over an area of 4 square kilometers the island is known for its clean waters, various types of rare fish, coral reefs and enchanting natural sceneries. "The SCTH has gone a long way to develop the island for tourism purpose in cooperation with five ministries and four general authorities," the official said. They include the ministries of interior, foreign, finance, municipal and rural affairs and petroleum and mineral resources. The authorities involved in the development process are: Presidency of Meteorology and Environment, General Intelligence, Saudi Wildlife Authority and Saudi Geological Survey. The national tourism development program aims to Saudize a good percentage of current 600,000 jobs available in the sector. At present only 10 to 15 percent of them are occupied by Saudis. The vision aims to create 1.5 million direct and indirect jobs in the sector by 2020. The tourism sector has been a major driver of investment and economic growth in the world, pumping $7.8 trillion by the end of 2015, which accounts for 10 percent of the global GDP.
