Media Centre

Saudi: Al-Khateeb says tourism GDP target doubled to $160bln as private sector urged to scale up investment

RIYADH — Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb said Saudi Arabia is seeking to double tourism’s contribution to the economy, urging the private sector to accelerate investment as the sector emerges as one of the Kingdom’s fastest-growing engines of jobs and growth.

Speaking at the PIF Private Sector Forum on Monday, Al-Khateeb cited global travel figures to underline the scale of opportunity.

He said the World Tourism Organization reported that 1.5 billion people traveled globally last year, out of a world population of around 8 billion, adding that forecasts point to continued growth over the next five years.

In Saudi Arabia, he said tourism currently contributes about 5 percent of GDP, up from 3.5 percent in 2019.

“We want to raise it to 10 percent,” Al-Khateeb said, adding that the sector’s economic contribution is targeted to increase from SR300 billion to SR600 billion.

He said the sector’s growth has been accompanied by strong job creation, with employment rising from around 750,000 to more than one million jobs.

Tourism, he noted, is among the world’s top five sectors in employment because it is labor-intensive.

Al-Khateeb said the Kingdom’s tourism transformation began in 2016, as Saudi Arabia deliberately expanded beyond oil and gas, building successful new sectors including petrochemicals and financial services. Tourism was identified as a natural next pillar, supported by the Kingdom’s religious, leisure and business travel potential.

He stressed that tourism is fundamentally a private-sector-led industry.

“In developed countries, the driver in this sector is the private sector,” he said, noting that investors build and operate hotels, resorts, airports, airlines, malls and tourism experiences.

“Our presence in a forum like this is an opportunity to invite you to expand investment in this sector.”

From 2020 to 2030, Al-Khateeb said committed investments in tourism amount to around SR450 billion, split evenly between the Public Investment Fund and the private sector.

He said PIF initially took on projects that were difficult for private investors to undertake alone, such as large-scale Red Sea developments that required heavy upfront infrastructure spending.

“Today, the infrastructure exists,” he said. “I invite the private sector to seize these state-of-the-art infrastructure opportunities and start building on top of them hotels, resorts and tourism experiences that visitors and residents need.”

He cited recent private-sector participation as evidence of momentum, including agreements to build and operate One&Only and Atlantis resorts at the Jeddah Central destination and the start of operations at Rixos in King Abdullah Economic City.

He said similar projects across the Kingdom have enabled the sector to record its strongest growth by the end of 2025.

Al-Khateeb also highlighted the sector’s role in employing Saudis, praising young Saudi men and women working in tourism projects, particularly at the Red Sea destination.

He said the government has committed around SR300 million to training Saudi nationals for the sector, describing service quality delivered by Saudis as “truly very special.”

He concluded by reiterating that tourism’s next phase depends on deeper private-sector participation, building on the foundations already laid to support sustained growth, job creation and economic diversification.