Tourism
From The Report: Saudi Arabia 2022
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Saudi Arabia is rolling out a broad range of tourism offerings across the country as a central part of its Vision 2030 national transformation strategy. Following the launch of the tourist visa programme in September 2019 and the subsequent downturn from the Covid-19 pandemic, 2021 and 2022 have witnessed an ambitious calendar of events ranging from the Formula 1 Grand Prix to arts and cultural festivals. In October 2021 the Ministry of Tourism announced a $1trn investment over the next 10 years in the sector. This reflects the Kingdom’s ambitions to become one of the top tourist destinations both regionally and worldwide.

This chapter contains an interview with John Pagano, Group CEO, The Red Sea Development Company.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Making headway: Ambitious projects aim to make the Kingdom a destination for a wider variety of foreign investment and visitors
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Saudi Arabia is rolling out a broad tourism offering across the country as a central part of its Vision 2030 national transformation strategy. Following the launch of the tourist visa programme in September 2019 and the subsequent downturn associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, 2021 and 2022 have featured an ambitious calendar of events ranging from the Formula 1 Grand Prix, to arts and cultural festivals. In October 2021 the Ministry of Tourism announced a $1trn investment package for the sector…

Analysis

Ambitious designs: Developing new destinations and expanding infrastructure to increase domestic and international tourist arrivals
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As part of its long-term plans for economic diversification away from hydrocarbons, Saudi Arabia has set far-reaching goals for the development of its tourism sector. It seeks to achieve 100m domestic and international tourist trips per year, a significant target when compared to global benchmarks. For comparison, France, the global leader in international tourist arrivals, received 90m international visitors in 2019. Ultimately, success in meeting the 2030 target will depend on the country’s ability…

Interview

A new destination: John Pagano, Group CEO, The Red Sea Development Company, on harnessing sustainability to drive growth
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Interview:John Pagano How is sustainability shaping investment attraction strategies for tourism-related giga-projects? JOHN PAGANO: The Red Sea Development Company is the developer behind The Red Sea Project, a tourism destination on Saudi Arabia’s west coast that will be home to more than 50 resorts, residential properties and leisure facilities. Less than 1% of the 28,000-sqkm destination will be developed with 75% of the 90 islands left untouched. The project aims to be carbon neutral…

Analysis

Greener destinations: The global tourism industry looks to adopt sustainable practices in its post-Covid-19 pandemic recovery strategy
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The global tourism industry – which accounted for 10% of GDP and 8% of global emissions in 2019 – is faced with the challenge of ensuring continued growth while working towards net-zero emissions goals. Several stakeholders in emerging markets and further afield offer useful case studies to understand what a decarbonised future for the industry could look like. The global tourism industry faces numerous challenges when it comes to decarbonisation, as highlighted by a November 2021 report from…