How Saudi Arabia Is Becoming A World Tourism Power
Vision 2030 envisions 150 million visits (raised from 100 million – a target already achieved) and more than 1.6 million job opportunities.
In 2024, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, or KSA, hit 30 million international visitors who spent $41 billion.
Over $800 billion is being invested. All the major hotel groups from Marriott and Hilton, IHG, Accor and Hyatt to luxury players such as Mandarin Oriental, Rosewood and Aman have multiple projects covering an expansive variety of experiences. There are new airports, new airlines and high-speed rail being developed.
GDP from tourism is projected to increase from 3% in 2019 to 10%. Nationals from over 60 countries can now obtain visas online or on arrival, making visiting easier than ever.
Next month, KSA will open domestic private jet charter flights to foreign operators. This move could super-charge more HNW visitors who serve as opinion leaders and influencers to other HNWs.
Diriyah Gate Company Limited Group CEO Jerry Inzerillo says the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is well ... More positioned to be a major force in world tourism.
'The evolution in tourism and cultural development that the KSA has made in the past seven years in bringing their Vision 2030 to fruition is absolutely mind boggling,' says Edie Rodriguez, a veteran travel industry CEO who previously served on the board of the Saudi Tourism Authority. She adds, 'Their efforts are certain to become a new global benchmark for tourism development and a future series of Harvard business case studies.'
Diriyah is one of the KSA's most important giga projects, combining history, culture and entertainment. Recently we spoke with, Jerry Inzerillo, who is the Group Chief Executive Officer of Diriyah Gate Company Limited.
Inzerillo, discussed all things tourism-related. Below is a condensed version of the interview.
Question: How does Diriyah differ from some of the other giga projects that are going on right now?
Inzerillo: Everybody knows Beverly Hills and Beverly Hills sits in the metroplex of Los Angeles, but it has its own form-based code and its own personality. Beverly Hills feels different than Los Angeles. Beverly Hills is 14.7 million square meters (5.2 square miles). Diriyah sits in the middle of the metroplex of Riyadh, a G20 city going from eight to 12 million people with a new master plan. Diriyah is the same size as Beverly Hills but anchored by a UNESCO World Heritage Site (one of eight in KSA) where the Kingdom started 300 years ago and where the House of Al Saud was formed 300 years ago. Now, through the inspiration of the King and the Crown Prince as my chairman, King Salman and Mohammed bin Salman, we have appropriated $64 billion to build a tourism living, pedestrian, eco-friendly, walkable master plan like Florence, Italy, in the middle of Riyadh, but looking like it did 300 years ago with that color and that typology of mud and wood and stone.
Q: Where does the name Diriyah come from?
Inzerillo: Before Saudi Arabia was called Saudi Arabia, it was called Arabia. Then, when the House of Al Saud organized Arabia, they named it after themselves, Saud's Arabia or Saudi Arabia. Before Arabia, 300 years ago, Arabia was called Diriyah. The name Diriyah was the original name of the first Saudi state.
Q: Can you tell us more about Diriyah's scale?
Inzerillo: We expect to attract 27 million tourists. We're building 42 new hotels, the first is open now, the Bab Samhan Hotel, which is doing very well—all the big luxury brand names. Over 200 restaurants and over a thousand retail (stores) are to be built between now and 2030: nine museums, some big ones, including the House of Al Saud. You'll have an ecosystem of 100,000 people, plus all the tourism on top of that.
Q: Will people live there? Will there be office space?
Inzerillo: Yes, there's quite a bit. There are 100 million square meters of office. 30,000 residents. You can live, you can work, you can recreate right there. The difference is that we only go up six stories in height. It will feel like Florence in Italy.
Q: What about other development in Saudi Arabia?
Inzerillo: We have about 30 major projects right now. The Egyptians are famous for the Red Sea, Sharm El Sheikh, but Egypt controls 21% of the Red Sea. People don't realize that Saudi Arabia controls 45% of the Red Sea, with the largest living coral reef in the world. Now, we never used it. You couldn't go there. Now we're developing the Red Sea as a resort, sand and sea. On the coast of the Red Sea, the city of Jeddah will be the Kingdom's Miami. Diriyah and Riyadh in central Saudi Arabia are New York, Washington, DC.
Q: How is the government making investing more hospitable to foreign investors?
Inzerillo: We had a big change in the law, which is effective this year. It's a giant change. We have many changes. One of the most transformative laws is that in 2025, non-Saudis can rent, lease, or own all residences. Now, non-Saudis can own any business in the Kingdom without a Saudi partner.
Q: What about misperceptions about tourism in the KSA?
Inzerillo: If there was an equation, which there's not, on the image of a country versus how the society is functioning, Saudi would have one of the biggest gaps in the world to this day. No one's saying it's unfair. We know it. In the post-Saudi tourism focus groups, we ask, 'What did you think now that you left?' Visitors tell us, 'We had no idea that Saudi Arabia was so warm and welcoming. We had no idea the country was so beautiful.' This is a good thing, but you have to get the word out. That's why tourism is enormous. Tourism is changing the perception so fast. The other thing changing the perception so fast is that all the young Saudis are coming home because they're optimistic. They're all on social media. Now, with Instagram and Snapchat, you see these beautiful images. My staff is 3,200. It's 82% Saudi. It's 39% women, 16% of which are in management. The average age of my staff is 31.
Q. The Western image of a vacation or a business function is relaxing or mingling with an alcoholic beverage. How is being a dry country impacting reaching tourism goals?
Inzerillo: We learned something accidentally that surprises all of us. In addition to being CEO of Diriyah, I'm also on the board of tourism for Saudi Arabia. When we interview people who have never been to Saudia Arabia on what they want when they come, alcohol is in the top 10. It's one of the things. When we do the interviews on the post, it is not in the top five, not even in the top 10. In the last five years, we've hosted over 100 international events without alcohol, and nobody misses it. We're so surprised. People are coming and having a great time. The law is the law now. One can't predict the future, but nobody is missing it. It's amazing.
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