“Saudi Arabia will open up to more international travellers,” suggested Laanani, noting that this comes at an opportune time when due to the expanding supply and the decrease in oil prices, hoteliers give high importance to incoming travellers.
To this end, religious tourism remains a pivotal segment with Adel Erfan, general manager, Mövenpick Hotel & Residence Hajar Tower Makkah, saying that besides the local market and GCC residents, countries with large Muslim populations, including Egypt, Turkey, Morocco and even Indonesia, are significant contributors to the business.
As Erfan further revealed, apart from these markets, interest has been also hiking from up and coming territories such as South Africa, North America and Europe.
As Minwar Al Jawhara, assistant manager, marketing communications, Mövenpick Hotel & Residence Hajar Tower Makkah, noted all these developments are in line with Saudi Arabia’s objective to attract 30 million pilgrims per annum by 2025 – part of the Kingdom’s larger vision that places the industry at the heart of the development.
“There are many changes […] with the government trying to invest in tourism and make it a supreme economic source for the country,” added Al Jawhara.
SCTH is indeed laying down the foundation to lure both investors as well as visitors, in accordance with the Kingdom’s long-term diversification strategy, earning wide international recognition, with David Scowsill, president, World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), having recently personally commended the country on adapting tourism as a key sector to reform and boost the economy.
“WTTC has been emphasising the importance of travel and tourism as an alternative income stream to oil exporting countries over the last months.
[…] It is important that any country sees this opportunity, but especially for countries where other income streams are contracting, such as oil exporters,” said Scowsill, applauding the Saudi leadership for fostering cooperation between the public and private sectors and urging relevant authorities to seize the opportunity and turn tourism into a key engine of socio-economic growth.
“In order to ensure that the increase in tourism investment will lead to the expected growth, we encourage the government to adopt visa policies that welcome all travellers for business and leisure purposes,” added Scowsill.
