Investors across the world have marked down Saudi Arabia as the next potential bright spot for tourism, according to a co-organiser of the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC) 2009.

The fifth edition of AHIC will take place from May 2 to 4 at the Madinat Jumeirah hotel in Dubai.

Jonathan Worsley, a co-organiser of AHIC said that a high profile delegation from Saudi Arabia will put forward the case for investment in the country’s tourism and hospitality industry at the conference.

They will outline the government commitment to boosting the tourism and leisure sector; profile the opportunities, for the private sector. They will also address any challenges as well as the challenges, for the private sector.

“The launch of the Saudi Summit at AHIC is timely given the global scenario,” Worsley said. “The current situation has caused many to rethink their tourism and hospitality investment strategies as former hotspots go in to meltdown.”

“What we are seeing in Saudi Arabia is a continued investment in the requisite infrastructure to develop and maintain a healthy hospitality sector, from new airlines, to a rail network, and to a plethora of accommodation options,” he added.

President and chairman of the board for the Saudi Commission for Tourism & Antiquities (SCTA), Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, said the remit for SCTA is to train and create jobs, oversee the hotel and travel trade sector, as well as build on Saudi Arabia’s heritage.

He said that a five-year strategic plan is guiding this development.

“Our aim is to reawaken our culture, not to open the floodgates for unrestricted tourism,” he said.  “Our mandate is to ensure that tourism adds value to our culture, our society, to our economy, and to the visitor.”

With the easing of restrictions on tourism visas, plus government incentives and investment opportunities, Prince Sultan said SCTA's efforts and programmes are aimed at developing local tourism.

He explained that a service sector is being created from the ground-up to cater to not only Umrah, pilgrim and overseas tourists, but also domestic travel, meetings and events.

Worsley pointed to Vision 2020 document outlining national development strategies that predicts more that 43 million visitors will travel through Saudi Arabia by that year.

Currently, Smith Travel Research global statistics for 2008 demonstrate that Saudi cities, though not hitting the dizzy heights of other regional gateways, are maintaining a healthy increase in revenues.

Last year, Jeddah with 71.5 per cent average occupancy saw an increase in revenue per available room (revPAR) of 27.7 per cent to $114 with an average room rate of $159, while Riyadh had a similar occupancy figure with average rate of $244 and revPAR of $175, up 25.3 per cent.

To support the new leisure market, the Saudi council of ministers has approved plans for a number of major tourism projects on the Red Sea coast and elsewhere, while many global hotel groups have announced plans for expansion in Saudi Arabia.

Identifying a need for both additional deluxe rooms and budget accommodation to cater to the expected burgeoning of the mid-range travel market, Hilton Hotels has recently announced an agreement to develop 13 Hilton Garden Inn properties with 2,500 rooms, starting this year in Riyadh, and is also looking to bring in its upscale Conrad brand.

According to Jean-Paul Herzog, Hilton president, Middle East and Africa, the group is paying special attention to the needs of Saudi Arabia to ensure development projects were in sync with its tourism ambitions.

“Our immediate expansion plans in the Kingdom will drive the presence of our core Hilton brand and luxury brands the Waldorf Astoria and Conrad, but we are also identifying opportunities for Doubletree by Hilton, as well as Hilton Garden Inn,” Herzog said.