Tourism and Entertainment
Of all the sectors that Vision 2030 has sought to create or transform, tourism is perhaps the most audacious. A decade ago, Saudi Arabia was effectively closed to leisure tourism. There was no tourist visa. There was no entertainment infrastructure. International perceptions of the Kingdom were shaped by restrictive social norms rather than destination appeal. The decision to build a tourism sector targeting 100 million annual visits — a figure that would place Saudi Arabia among the most visited countries on Earth — represents one of the most ambitious sectoral bets in modern economic history.
The Vision: 100 Million Visits
The target of 100 million total visits per year encompasses both domestic and international tourism. This figure includes religious pilgrims (Hajj and Umrah visitors), business travellers, and — the genuinely new category — leisure tourists. Reaching this target requires exponential growth in a sector that was essentially non-existent for leisure purposes prior to 2019, when Saudi Arabia introduced its e-visa programme for international tourists.
The e-visa itself was a watershed moment. Available to citizens of dozens of countries, the electronic tourist visa removed the most fundamental barrier to entry. Our investment analysis examines the capital flows underpinning this expansion. The subsequent expansion of visa-on-arrival arrangements and the introduction of transit visas for airline passengers have further lowered entry friction. The visa liberalisation has been accompanied by the relaxation of social regulations — including the lifting of restrictions on entertainment, the opening of cinemas, and the hosting of international sporting and cultural events — that collectively make the Kingdom a more appealing destination.
GDP Contribution: From 3 Percent to 10 Percent
The economic ambition behind the tourism target is the increase of tourism’s GDP contribution from approximately 3 percent to 10 percent by 2030. This would make tourism one of the largest non-oil sectors in the economy, rivalling petrochemicals and financial services.
Achieving a 10 percent GDP contribution requires not only visitor volume but visitor spending. The Kingdom’s tourism strategy deliberately targets multiple market segments — from ultra-luxury (AMAALA, The Red Sea) to mass-market entertainment (Qiddiya) to cultural tourism (AlUla, Diriyah) to religious tourism (enhanced Umrah experience). Each segment carries different spending profiles, and the portfolio approach aims to maximise total economic impact.
The indirect economic effects of tourism development are equally significant. Hotel construction generates employment in construction, interior design, and building materials. Operational hotels create permanent jobs in hospitality, food services, and facility management. Tourism-adjacent services — transportation, retail, tour operations, cultural programming — expand the employment multiplier further.
Giga-Destinations: Building the Supply
The PIF’s giga-projects constitute the supply-side backbone of the tourism strategy. Each project creates a distinct destination proposition targeting specific market segments.
The Red Sea (Red Sea Global). Spanning a pristine coastline and archipelago of over 90 islands, the Red Sea destination targets the luxury eco-tourism market. The first phase, featuring resorts operated by international luxury brands, has begun receiving guests. The destination’s value proposition centres on unspoiled natural environments — coral reefs, marine biodiversity, desert landscapes — combined with world-class hospitality infrastructure. Sustainability is a core design principle, with targets for carbon neutrality and environmental net gain.
AMAALA. Positioned as the “Riviera of the Middle East,” AMAALA targets the ultra-luxury wellness and arts tourism market. Located along the Red Sea coast north of the Red Sea destination, AMAALA is developing resorts, a marina, and cultural venues designed to attract the highest-spending international travellers.
AlUla. The ancient oasis of AlUla, home to the Nabataean tombs of Hegra (Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site), has been developed as a cultural tourism destination under the Royal Commission for AlUla. In partnership with France, AlUla has hosted international cultural events and is developing a suite of hospitality and cultural infrastructure that positions it as a heritage destination of global significance.
Qiddiya. Located outside Riyadh, Qiddiya is being developed as the Kingdom’s sports and entertainment capital. Plans include theme parks (featuring a Six Flags-branded park), motorsport facilities, golf courses, water parks, and entertainment venues. Qiddiya targets primarily the domestic and regional markets, offering entertainment options that previously required Saudi residents to travel abroad.
Diriyah Gate. The restoration and development of Diriyah — the historic seat of the Saudi state — combines heritage preservation with luxury hospitality, retail, and cultural venues. The project aims to create a living district that attracts both international tourists and Saudi residents.
Hospitality Infrastructure
The tourism target demands a massive expansion of hotel and accommodation capacity. The Kingdom has embarked on a hotel development programme that includes international chains, boutique operators, and new Saudi hospitality brands. The target is to develop hundreds of thousands of new hotel rooms across the Kingdom, with a mix of luxury, mid-range, and budget options.
International hotel operators have responded to the opportunity. Major groups including Marriott, Hilton, Accor, IHG, and Hyatt have announced significant expansion plans in the Kingdom. Saudi-owned hospitality companies, including PIF-backed ventures, are also developing properties, creating a domestic hospitality industry that can retain a greater share of tourism spending within the national economy.
Short-term rental platforms have been legalised and regulated, providing additional accommodation capacity and income opportunities for Saudi property owners. The regulatory framework balances the desire for supply flexibility with quality assurance and neighbourhood impact management.
Aviation and Connectivity
Tourism growth requires aviation connectivity commensurate with visitor targets. Saudia, the national carrier, has undergone a fleet renewal and route expansion programme. Flynas, the low-cost carrier, has grown rapidly, providing price-competitive connectivity to leisure destinations.
The most significant aviation initiative is the creation of Riyadh Air, a new premium airline headquartered in Riyadh with a mandate to establish the capital as a global aviation hub. Riyadh Air has placed orders for dozens of new aircraft and is developing a route network designed to connect Saudi Arabia with high-priority tourism source markets.
Airport infrastructure has expanded accordingly. The King Salman International Airport project in Riyadh, announced as one of the world’s largest airport developments, will provide the gateway capacity needed for the tourism target. Existing airports in Jeddah, Madinah, and the Red Sea region have undergone or are undergoing expansions.
Entertainment Ecosystem
The entertainment sector — effectively created from nothing under Vision 2030 — provides the content that fills the tourism infrastructure. The General Entertainment Authority (GEA) has overseen an explosion of events, from international music concerts to sporting tournaments to cultural festivals.
The hosting of international sporting events has been a deliberate strategy to build destination awareness. Formula One, Formula E, boxing championships, golf tournaments, football matches, and wrestling events have all been staged in the Kingdom, generating international media coverage and positioning Saudi Arabia as a destination capable of hosting world-class events.
The Riyadh Season and Jeddah Season — annual mega-festivals combining entertainment, dining, shopping, and cultural programming — have become significant domestic tourism drivers, attracting millions of visitors and generating substantial economic activity.
Challenges and Risks
The tourism ambition faces meaningful challenges. International perceptions of Saudi Arabia, while improving, remain coloured by concerns about human rights, social restrictions, and regional security. Converting awareness into visitation requires sustained marketing investment and the accumulation of positive visitor experiences.
Climate presents a practical constraint. Summer temperatures in much of the Kingdom exceed levels comfortable for outdoor tourism, concentrating the leisure season and creating utilisation challenges for hospitality infrastructure. Coastal and mountain destinations (Red Sea, Trojena) and the development of indoor entertainment (Qiddiya) partially address this limitation.
The scale of infrastructure required — hotels, airports, roads, utilities, waste management — is enormous, and the construction timeline is compressed. Labour shortages in construction, supply chain constraints, and the sheer coordination complexity of simultaneous mega-project development create execution risk.
Competition is fierce. The UAE, with Dubai’s established tourism infrastructure and brand recognition, remains the regional benchmark. Oman, Bahrain, and Qatar are all developing their tourism propositions. Globally, Saudi Arabia competes against established leisure destinations with decades of tourism industry experience.
Assessment
The tourism and entertainment priority represents Vision 2030 at its most transformative — and its most risky. The creation of an entire tourism sector in less than a decade is an undertaking without precedent at this scale. The early results — growing visitor numbers, operational giga-destination phases, a thriving entertainment calendar — suggest that the strategy is viable.
Whether the Kingdom reaches 100 million visits and 10 percent tourism GDP contribution by 2030 is less important than whether the infrastructure, institutions, and brand equity built during this period position Saudi Arabia as a durable tourism destination. The investments being made now are long-duration assets. Their returns will compound over decades, not years. The strategic bet is not on 2030 specifically — it is on Saudi Arabia’s permanent transformation into a country that the world wants to visit.