Saudi Arabia’s real estate landscape is poised for a major boost following recent announcements by the Saudi Entertainment Ventures Company (SEVEN), a fully owned subsidiary of Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), for a second mega entertainment hub in the capital Riyadh, and $20 billion of investment through 2035 for Al-Ula tourism destination in the Kingdom’s northwest.
The Al-Ula project will leverage the area’s cultural heritage, which features rock sculptures embodying Nabatean stone carvings, and is aimed at attracting up to 2 million overseas and domestic visitors annually with about 1,000 hotel rooms plus desert camps in the pipeline.
“This is yet another major stride in the Kingdom’s determination to develop modern leisure destinations and opens up huge potential for resort and residential developers,” said Chris Speller, Cityscape Group director at Informa Exhibitions, which organizes the Cityscape property shows. “The Royal Commission for Al-Ula expects targeted investments to eventually generate 35,000 jobs — this workforce will require office and residential accommodation, while the destination will likely attract domestic investors who may wish to have second homes there.”
Dana Salbak, associate at JLL MENA, said: “The entertainment and tourism industries are set to witness ongoing activity on the back of major large-scale project announcements such as Amaala, NEOM and Al-Qiddiya.”
“Meanwhile, the retail market is undergoing significant change in the Kingdom on the back of cinemas making a return and the growth of ‘shoppentertainment,’ which is likely to see innovative, unique and international concepts tap into the Saudi retail market. Ultimately, both these sectors are expected to play a significant role in driving Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economic growth. They are also likely to generate more job opportunities, especially for women,” she added.
The move toward entertainment destinations will be a hot topic of discussion among others at the Cityscape Jeddah platform, the eighth edition of Jeddah’s largest real estate exhibition taking place April 5-7, at the Jeddah Center for Forum & Events. Cityscape Jeddah is being held under the patronage of Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, Saudi Arabia’s minister of housing.
“More than 20 regional sector experts will be addressing the free-to-attend workshops to drill down into pressing issues which are impacting the Kingdom’s real estate segment,” said Mohaned Yaman, exhibition manager of Cityscape Jeddah. “Delegates will gain a thorough understanding of the market in the Kingdom, including tourism and entertainment.”
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy will be in the spotlight with delegates keen to understand how it is shaping foreign investor sentiment and how they can capture a slice of the growing halal and religious tourism market.
Cityscape Jeddah will bring together more than 40 local and international developers to showcase the latest real estate opportunities and unveil hundreds of new projects from across the property spectrum to investors and homebuyers, who will represent more than 50 percent of the anticipated 8,000 visitors.
