Saudi tourism industry to be worth $22b a year 

DUBAI - The burgeoning tourism industry in Saudi Arabia is estimated to be worth $22 billion a year in 15 years, Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, head of kingdom's Supreme Commission for Tourism (SOT), said in Dubai on the sidelines of the ATM-2003.


The kingdom is participation in the ATM-2003 with a national pavilion for the first time as part of its efforts to emerge on the global tourism map.

Prince Sultan said Saudi Arabia has been developing a billion-dollar tourism industry which will also create up to 2.3 million jobs. At least 44 million tourists a year are expected to be visiting the Kingdom within two decades compared to 20.8 million inbound and outbound visitors during the year 2001.

Prince Sultan said:" The Kingdom is ready to welcome people from all over the world who wish to experience our diverse and intriguing culture. Tourism is considered pivotal in the Kingdom's overall strategy to reduce dependence on oil."

Prince Sultan, who became famous throughout the world in 1985 as the first Arab to travel in to space when he was a member of the crew of the space shuttle Discovery, said the commission has a blueprint to enable the Kingdom to be a major player in the international tourism sector.

It includes building an extra 50,000 hotel rooms over 10 years to add to the 95,000 already in the country. The industry will also need 74,000 more apartments over the next decade. The SOT, he said, aims to have a vibrant tourism industry which will be "self-sufficient in five years". As many as 38 tourism development areas and 175 designated tourist sites have been identified in Saudi Arabia.

The SOT, formed two years ago, is at the forefront of the tourism push with 46-year-old former fighter pilot Prince Sultan at the helm.

The SOT has designed a five-year plan to create the infrastructure to handle the influx of tourists. The Kingdom's tourist industry is currently worth $9.64 billion a year.

Each year Saudi Arabia draws 6.3 million outside visitors, the vast majority being Muslims making the pilgrimage to the Holy Makkah.

He added: "Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and home to Islam's holiest shrines. Large-scale travel and tourism are not new activities in Saudi Arabia, they have been in our country for a long time."

The kingdom last year approved a plan to allow Umrah pilgrims to travel across the Kingdom rather than restricting them to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.

Prince Sultan said: "We are diversifying our tourism industry. It is of course a major step and much of it must be done with caution because the eyes of the Islamic world are on us. We are building an infrastructure for tourism that will cater for all the needs of the visitor. We want people to enjoy themselves in Saudi Arabia from the moment they arrive until the moment they leave."

He said a prime example was the SCT taking a major stand at the ATM, an initiative which has generated a lot of interest in the Kingdom's tourism plans. He said the Kingdom's expansion in tourism over the next 12 months "will be substantial indeed." The Kingdom's Council for Public Investment will work with the SCT to generate funds for investment in tourism.

He said markets have been identified and marketing strategies are being initiated.