Saudi Arabia’s tourism and investment ministries announced the first approved projects under the Hospitality Investment Enablers Program on 19 October. The initial batch comprises 19 projects across five tourism destinations and is expected to unlock SAR6.7 billion in investment, create more than 17,000 jobs and add over 3,000 hotel rooms, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

The ministries said the projects could contribute more than SAR2.4 billion annually to gross domestic product by 2030 and generate over SAR5.3 billion in demand for locally sourced goods, services and materials. About 40% of the planned rooms are in coastal destinations. The programme offers targeted measures to reduce operating costs for approved projects; the report says the first is expected to open by the end of 2026, with the final projects due to operate in 2029.