KSA tourism commission calls for 48,000 new rooms

David Thompson, July 6th, 2016

The Saudi Arabia Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) said tourist numbers are estimated to reach 140 million by 2020, prompting a call for additional hotel rooms to be developed.

A call for more than 48,000 new hotels rooms in Saudi Arabia, to accommodate growing foreign and domestic visitor numbers, has been made by Saudi Arabia’s Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), according to Gulf Business.

The SCTH said growing tourism figures offered a “golden opportunity for the private sector to invest in the kingdom’s profitable hospitality industry” according to an unnamed official quoted by Saudi Gazette.

“The commission expects 128 million domestic tourists and 13.1 million foreign tourists, mainly from the neighbouring Gulf and Arab countries, by 2020,” the official said.

Domestic tourist spending is expected to rise from US $13.3 billion (SAR 50 billion) to $20.7 billion (SAR 78 billion) in 2020.

Foreign tourist spending is expected to increase from $3.1 billion (SAR 12 billion) to $6.1 billion (SAR 23 billion) over the same period.