Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — When goals are set, implementation will be facilitated. The Ministry of Tourism and the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) are striving hard on accomplishing a strategy to reach the target of 100 million visitors to the Kingdom per annum as part of realizing the goals of the Kingdom's ambitious Vision 2030. The Vision aims to establish an integrated tourism sector that puts young Saudis on the road map with creation of 1.6 million jobs by 2030. Among the major initiatives that have been implemented in the past was the establishment of the Tourism Development Fund that specialists see as one of the most important support resources for those working in the tourism sector. The Fund works to encourage tourism investments in the Kingdom, as well as to diversify sources of income, and enhance the contribution of the tourism sector to gross domestic product (GDP). The Fund, which came into being with a capital of SR15 billion ($4 billion), has concluded memoranda of understanding (MoU) with local banks to finance tourism projects, worth up to SR150 billion ($40 billion). It also started, in cooperation with investment banks, to establish investment funds in various tourism sectors, apart from supporting vital areas, which bring about positive returns on the sector, such as hotels, restaurants, development of tourism destinations and tour operators. According to the latest developments, the Saudi tourism aims to accomplish the construction of 150,000 new hotel rooms over the next three years and that will be offered by the private sector, while work is under way, in cooperation with investors from home and abroad as well as with investment funds, to build 500,000 hotel rooms throughout the Kingdom by the year 2030. Memoranda of understanding worth over SR115 billion have been signed to develop infrastructure in preparation to meet the growing demand for the visit to the Kingdom. The Ministry of Tourism, the Tourism Authority and other competent authorities started undertaking the ground works of mega projects such Qiddiya, AMAALA and AlUla. Qiddiya is the largest entertainment project of its kind in the world, while The AMAALA project is expected to be the most important integrated destination for health, convalescence and recreation in the Middle East. Earlier this month, Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman announced the master plan for the new AlUla Development Program titled "A Journey Through Time", which is heralded as the new chapter in AlUla's legacy as the world's largest living museum and a global destination for arts, heritage, culture, and nature. Within the framework of Saudi Vision 2030, the master plan commits to achieving harmonious coexistence between nature and humankind, preservation of the cultural legacy of AlUla for the world, development opportunities, and sustainable economic growth. The Crown Prince envisioned the master plan as a way to capture the essence of AlUla, an oasis of unique culture, heritage, nature, and community while curating a timeless legacy with stories of the past to inform the future and open new chapters in AlUla's unfolding history. Saudi Arabia sees this as complementary to the integrated system based on tourism diversity. These movements in various directions for the development of Saudi tourism by attracting global brands, prompted the United Nations World Tourism Organization to open its regional office in Riyadh, which is expected to start its work in the middle of this year.
