Saudi Arabia ups emphasis on tourism sector (page 2 of 2)

The resorts are projected to have a total of 557,000 rooms and create 413,000 jobs, including 165,000 direct jobs in the first five years.

Other new hotel projects planned for the kingdom include a 292-room Radisson-SAS hotel that is expected to open in Jeddah this year, as well as a 167-room property in Yanbu and a 234-bed hotel in Riyadh. Marriott Hotels and Crowne Plaza are also planning to open five-star properties.

Hilton sees no drop off

Hilton Hotels Group, which recently entered into a partnership with Saudi-based Abdulmohsen Al-Hokair Group for Tourism and Development, plans to build 13 new hotels throughout the country over the next five years, adding 2,500 rooms. The first of these is scheduled to open this year in Riyadh.

So far Hilton has not witnessed any decline in its hotel business in Saudi since the onset of the global economic crisis, says Essam Abouda, Hilton's VP of operations for the Arabian Peninsula and Indian Ocean. He credits the stability of the Saudi economy as a key factor that is keeping domestic tourism strong.

'Another factor is that, unlike business travel, which is subject to ups and downs, travel to the holy sites in the kingdom is something that many people feel they need to do regardless of the economy,' he noted. 'They save up their money for the trip, which for some people is something they do once in a lifetime and others once every year.'

Due to these stabilizing factors, Hilton expects 'business as usual' for its properties for the rest of the year.

Abouda says one of the limitations that Saudi faces as a tourist destination are the restrictions to entering the country. 'In terms of attracting more foreigners, this will not be easy unless the country makes major efforts to ease the visa requirements,' he said.

'If they relaxed these requirements they would boost tourism because the country does offer its share of attractions, including nice weather, beaches, and fishing and diving which have not been exploited to the maximum.'

Saudi tourism will be one of the main topics that will be discussed at the upcoming Arabian Hotel Investment Conference which will be held on May 2-4 in Dubai.