JEDDAH, 10 August — Saudi businessmen have carried out new tourism projects worth SR10 billion, taking their total outlay in the sector to over SR30 billion. The fresh capital injection came in the wake of government incentives to promote domestic tourism.
The new investments were made in recreational centers, hotels and furnished villas. According to a Commerce Ministry report, there were 649 hotels with 69,968 rooms in the Kingdom by end of last year. The ministry has issued 1,129 licenses to establish furnished villas.
Bandar Al-Fehaid, chairman of the National Tourism Committee and managing director of the Gulf Investor Group, told Arab News that government incentives to promote domestic tourism have encouraged businessmen to make large investments in the sector.
Aamir Al-Aboud, a businessman who owns recreational centers, said there was substantial increase in returns from investments made in recreational centers and tourist resorts in the Kingdom. Prospects of making tourism a profitable industry in the country were bright, he said.
According to Prince Sultan ibn Salman, secretary-general of the Supreme Commission for Tourism, Saudi and foreign tourists had spent more than $9 billion in the Kingdom last year. He said that in 2001, tourism contributed 5.4 percent to the Saudi gross domestic product (GDP), or $9.6 billion, the third largest sector after oil and industry. Saudis spent some $6 billion while foreigners, including pilgrims, accounted for the rest.
Prince Sultan anticipated 20.8 million tourists to visit the Kingdom annually within 20 years. In order to meet the growing tourist requirements, the Kingdom would need 50,000 additional hotel rooms and 75,000 furnished apartments by 2020, he said.
Sources close to the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry told Arab News that Saudi investors were holding talks with Arab and international tourism companies to exchange expertise and information as well as to explore prospects of joint tourism projects.
The Commerce Ministry provides all assistance to businessmen to establish hotels and other tourism projects. It also monitors the services being provided by the hotels to ensure good standard. It is studying the conditions of some 533 buildings in various parts of the country.
Ahmad ibn Hamza Omair, deputy minister for foreign trade, said his ministry had given licenses to establish 555 furnished housing units last year. "We have also classified 350 buildings," he added.
The government has stepped up efforts to promote domestic tourism as part of an economic diversification drive. The Kingdom believes that the tourism sector would create more job opportunities for Saudis.
In a recent statement, Prince Sultan said the sector would provide 1.5 million to 2.3 million jobs by 2020, adding that Saudis would occupy 70 percent of these new jobs. At present, Saudis constitute only 10.5 percent of the total workforce in the sector.
Calling the tourism industry the world’s largest employer, the prince said: "A direct job in the tourism sector will contribute to creating one-and-a half indirect jobs in other sectors." Studies have proved that every room in a five-star hotel provides six direct and indirect jobs.
Saudis spend tens of billions of dollars abroad on tourism and the government intends to bag part of this staggering amount for the national coffers. According to Prince Sultan, Saudis spent about SR54 billion on foreign tourism in 2000.
