With millions of Muslims arriving every year to visit the Holy Cities of Makkah and Medina, Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector is characterised to a large degree by religious pilgrimage. However, while significant investments continue to be made to meet growing demand from this segment, the Kingdom’s tourism authorities are also hard at work...
Tourism is estimated to have directly contributed $12.7bn to the Saudi economy in 2013, equivalent to 1.7% of GDP, and this was forecast to rise by 5.2% to $13.3bn in 2014. Although religious tourism still dominates the industry, government efforts are under way to expand the sector’s offering, with opportunities available in various segments, including heritage and business tourism. Domestic...
The accession of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in January 2015 was the start of a new chapter for the Kingdom, and with the fall in global oil prices and continued regional turbulence there are undoubtedly challenges to be met. However, domestic stability, combined with the government’s commitment to major development projects and sustained focus on economic diversification, indicate a positive overall outlook for the country moving forward.
Rising arrivals are driving tourism infrastructure development in Abu Dhabi, as the emirate accelerates construction of hotels and other facilities in a bid to broaden its offering for both business and leisure travel.
Under its national tourism development plan, Vision 2020, Morocco has set itself the ambitious goal of raising bed capacity in the hospitality sector to 375,000 beds by the end of the decade. As of 2014, classified hotel bed capacity stood at 216,386, up from 176,630 in 2010 and 95,180 in 2000, with Marrakech having the largest portion (30%),...
In terms of infrastructure, what do you see as the priority investments for the tourism sector?
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