Saudi hospitality sector to create 2.3 million jobs by 2020

The inaugural Hotel and Hospitality Show Saudi Arabia will reflect the Kingdom’s booming hotel, hospitality and tourism industry, which has surged more than 127% over the last decade. Future expansion will also create more than 2.3 billion jobs over the next decade, according to the Supreme Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA).

The strength of the industry will be evident during the first Hotel and Hospitality Show Saudi Arabia, organised by dmg Dubai. A showcase for suppliers to the regional hospitality industry, the event will be held from 12-14 November at the Jeddah Centre for Forums & Events, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The show has been launched to coincide with Saudi Arabia’s ambitious hospitality sector expansion plan, which aims to more than double the number of hotel rooms from 120,000 to 255,000 over the next 10 years.

This further supports the Kingdom’s planned tourism strategy to attract 88 million visitors over the same period, up from 47 million in 2008. Leading this dynamic growth is the SCTA inking of more than SR334 million worth of tourism contracts in 2010 – 2011.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia saw inbound tourism rise from 5.3 million in 2006 to 7.7 million in 2010, with Riyadh having the highest Gross Operating Profit per Available Room in the GCC region,” said Frederique Maurell, Exhibition Director, Saudi Arabia Hotel and Hospitality Show.

During 2011, 48 hotels with more than 14,000 rooms valued at $7.3 billion are set to open in Saudi Arabia, which currently has one of the region’s largest share hotel projects due for completion in 2011.

Major hotel chains including Hyatt, Raffles, Starwood and Rezidor in addition to regionally-based hoteliers such as Rotana now have a presence in the Kingdom, having opened numerous properties over 2009-10.

Following the successful model set by The Hotel Show in Dubai, the event will be a comprehensive platform for hotel owners and operators along with other industry stakeholders including food and beverage, MICE and hospitality suppliers and service providers.

“Covering an area exceeding 8,500 square metres, we are anticipating more than 100 exhibitors. In addition to the exhibition, the Hotel and Hospitality Show Saudi Arabia also features a complete business agenda of industry workships, training and an international conference,” added Maurell.

Rising visitor numbers to Saudi Arabia are fuelled in part by the strength of religious tourism, with 3.8 million travelers visiting the holy city of Mekkah for Haj or Umrah in 2010. As an example of the impact this has had on the hospitality sector, the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently issued license for the construction of 500 hotels near the Grand Mosque in Makkah, including one with 5,000 rooms – an astounding number reflecting the massive expansion of the Kingdom’s hotel and hospitality sector.

Indeed, just this week, Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton have announced the construction of 12 new hotels between them in Makkah.

“Religious tourism is definitely the fastest growing segment in Saudi hospitality, where it is currently ranked only 25 in the world, with a shortage of rooms across Saudi Arabia reflecting this within the full spectrum of two- to five-star properties,” said Elie I. Rizk, CEO, MICE Arabia Group, joint partner responsible for organising the Hotel and Hospitality Show Saudi Arabia.

Business tourism is also on the rise, with spending of more than $13 billion on infrastructure committed in 2010 attracting increasing numbers of business travelers. The Kingdom’s ongoing improvement in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index, where it is now ranked just outside the top 10, is also boosting business visitors.

“The importance of The Hotel Show lies well beyond simply boosting individual hospitality-targeted businesses in the region and internationally, but in the Saudi economy as a whole, with hospitality and the SCTA integral to growing the Kingdom’s workforce in line with demand now and in the future.