17 tourism projects worth more than 12 billion riyals in the Eastern Province
An Officials at the Tourism Development Fund announced that the number of projects enabled by the Tourism Development Fund in the Eastern Province has reached 17 projects, with a value exceeding 12.6 billion Saudi riyals. These projects are expected to contribute, upon completion, to providing 2,140 rooms for visitors to the Eastern Province. A meeting organized by the Asharqia Chamber on Monday evening, October 22, in cooperation with the Tourism Development Fund at the Chamber’s headquarters, entitled: Tourism Development - Eastern Province, attended by officials from the Fund and a significant number of business sector representatives, entrepreneurs, and specialists in the tourism sector in the Eastern Province, reviewed strategies for empowering the private sector and available initiatives to enhance tourism investment. The focus was also on business solutions and financing and non-financial products provided by the Fund, which aim to support investors and achieve sustainable growth in the tourism sector in the region. The meeting, which was moderated by the Chairman of the Hospitality and Entertainment Committee of the Asharqia Chamber, Eng. Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al-Qadi, also discussed the Fund’s goals and services aimed at developing the region, the challenges and appropriate solutions for the renaissance of tourism services in it, and discussed a number of major tourism projects being implemented in the region that represent a qualitative addition to the tourism infrastructure in the region, and contribute to enhancing the status of the Eastern Province as a prominent tourist destination at the local and international levels. For his part, the CEO of the Tourism Development Fund, Qusay bin Abdullah Al-Fakhri, explained in a speech delivered on his behalf by the Chief Administrative Officer and Head of the Governance Sector at the Fund, Muhammad bin Abdulrahman Al-Rumaizan, that the Fund believes in the enormous potential of the Eastern Province, and its geographical, civilizational and cultural distinction, and strives to increase its empowerment by providing the necessary support and resources to achieve a sustainable tourism renaissance that places the region among the ranks of tourist destinations, noting that the Fund’s role is not limited to empowering projects only, but rather works to strengthen partnerships between the public and private sectors, and attract foreign investments. For his part, Engineer Al-Qadi said that the Kingdom is currently facing a number of challenges at all levels, and seeks to maximize the roles and status of various sectors. The tourism sector, with its added value to the national economy, is at the top of the priorities of the wise leadership (may God protect it), which has paid great attention to developing the sector and enhancing its growth in the national economy, due to the revenues it generates and what it can contribute to in terms of providing job opportunities, stimulating infrastructure and developing services, and also activating the economic cycle in various sectors. He pointed out that as a result of this great interest, the Kingdom has been classified as one of the most important and promising tourist destinations and the most attractive to tourists in the world, and topped the United Nations World Tourism Organization's list in terms of the growth in the number of international tourists in 2023, which reached more than 100 million tourists, 27 million from abroad and approximately 77 million from within. It is noteworthy that the meeting came within the framework of the Fund’s tour in a number of regions and governorates of the Kingdom, which aims to enable the private sector and entrepreneurs to invest in the tourism sector, and to strengthen partnerships that contribute to achieving the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.
