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The Saudi government and the World Bank also committed $100 million to further “sustainable international tourism growth” through a new International Fund for Comprehensive Tourism, Ahmed Al Khateeb, the kingdom’s first-ever tourism minister, declared at the conference.
These may seem like surprising moves, coming from a country that first issued tourist visas less than two years ago and is known for its conservative religiosity and oil wealth more than anything else.
However, Dr. Paul Rivlin, an economist and senior research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University, explains that this reflects Saudi Arabia’s wider effort to diversify its economy. “It’s part of the [Saudi] attempt to transform from a country whose dependence on oil is very significant,” to a market with more balance among its sectors, he told The Media Line.
This latest development can be seen against the backdrop of Saudi Vision 2030, a strategic framework championed by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman intended, in part, to create a more balanced economy and develop public service sectors. At present, oil and gas revenue is responsible for almost 50% of the country’s gross domestic product, according to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC.Vision 2030 includes a focus on tourism and aspires to increase the sector’s contribution to GDP from 3% to 10%. Tourism projects include the gigantic Red Sea Project, a sprawling luxury destination being constructed on the kingdom’s western coast.
Rivlin explains that being part of international organizations such as the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) aids these efforts. “Cooperation with the international tourism and transportation industries become easier,” he said.