The kingdom holds it own

So far, so good — those not yet operating in the market want to and those that are already established are ready and waiting for the competition.

But as more hotels come online, consumers are going to have more choice, raising the issue of ensuring service, not just facilities, are good enough to keep people coming back. And according to Al Mousim Travel president Rashid Al Mugait, this is where the KSA market might struggle: “The country is totally underserved by the hospitality business.

“I think the people of Saudi Arabia and the guests of Saudi Arabia deserve much, much better services and higher quality. Unfortunately this is not the case. I would go to the extreme and really consider if I can call it hospitality, because I don’t feel that hospitality does exist here.”

Al Mugait criticises international brands for not embracing the local culture in their hotels and the F&B industry for not providing local food or a “restaurant that is a destination”.

He also warns that sales and marketing teams do not cast their net wide enough in order to attract business.

Muhammad Al Amir, managing director of Riyada International Hotels and Resorts and Ramada Worldwide — Saudi Arabia, shares Al Mugait’s view that these issues must be addressed.

“There is plenty of opportunity in Saudi Arabia but I concur with Rashid; we need to invest more in quality and systems that will reflect and keep that going,” he says.

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“If you cannot arrange a trip for an individual how can you fly a group,” he asks.

However, with BA this month relaunching its flight from London to Riyadh and Jeddah after a four-year suspension, Jet Airways beginning a daily service from Mumbai to Saudi Arabia, SWISS International Air Lines integrating flights with Lufthansa German Airlines to increase frequency on its Saudi Arabia network and Saudi Arabian carrier nasair upping it flight frequency between Jeddah and Abu Dhabi from three times weekly to daily, perhaps this is an issue that is already being dealt with.

Indeed, according to Air France /KLM commercial director for the Gulf, Iran and Pakistan Bas Gerressen, “there is an over-capacity compared to demand”.

Gerressen believes that in accordance with IATA predictions for 2009, capacity would outstrip demand in the Gulf region this year and that one market in particular that would notice the onslaught of extra seats would be Saudi Arabia, given British Airways’ return as well as a presence from Lufthansa, bmi, Austrian and its own Air France flights from Riyadh and Jeddah to Paris.

But then if the hotels planned for this year open as planned (see box-out) perhaps the ratio will balance out.

And that brings us back to another theme from AHIC; the fact that forecasts and figures aside, with the market so uncertain there is inevitably a significant element of ‘wait and see’ involved when talking about growth.

However, with such strong government support and little signs of real economic slowdown, the wait for Saudi Arabia to boom is likely to be one of the shortest.