New visitor experiences and a focus on attracting domestic travellers is encouraging higher levels of tourism interest in the Dammam Metropolitan Area (DMA), according to a report.

The JLL’s Real Estate Market Overview for Q2 states how new visitor experiences in the DMA falls in line with the goal of attracting more visitors as set out in the Saudi Vision 2030.

Examples include the newly opened 5,000-sq-m family entertainment centre in Dammam by the Abdulmohsen Al Hokair Group and government ministries and private entities who are investing in new initiatives.

“The General Entertainment Authority (GEA) launched several events targeting families in the DMA across the holy month of Ramadan,” said Jamil Ghaznawi, national director and country head, JLL, KSA.

“The GEA is committed to positioning the DMA as one of the main leisure and entertainment destination in the kingdom, whilst seeking to capitalise on the growing demand for domestic tourism.”

The most notable addition to supply over the first half of 2017 was the Radisson Blu Residence, Dhahran (with 92 serviced apartments). This is the second property under the Radisson Blu flag in the DMA and will soon be followed by the Radisson Blu Resort Half Moon Bay that is scheduled to open in later this year.  

Hotel performance in the DMA has softened significantly over the past year, as the market remains highly dependent upon travel related to the oil and gas sector, it said. - TradeArabia News Service