Saudi Arabia has approved the first 19 projects under its Hospitality Investment Enablers programme, supporting an anticipated SAR6.7 billion in investment across five tourism destinations.
The announcement, made jointly by the Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Investment on October 19, marks a concrete step in encouraging private capital into hospitality. The announcement ceremony was attended by Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb (pictured above) and Minister of Investment Fahad Al-Saif.
Under this program, the Ministries offer targeted enablers the chance to accelerate private-sector investment in hospitality projects across selected tourism destinations in the Kingdom. More than 3,000 rooms are planned, with the first project scheduled to open before the end of 2026 and the remainder becoming operational by 2029. The importance extends beyond additional accommodation. Saudi Arabia is seeking to build a tourism investment market in which a wider range of businesses develops hotels alongside the major destination companies backed by the Public Investment Fund.
Building on the foundations laid by PIF
The PIF has been central to the creation of Saudi Arabia’s flagship new tourism destinations. Its portfolio includes Red Sea Global, the developer behind The Red Sea and AMAALA, as well as Diriyah Company. These businesses have undertaken the large-scale development needed to establish new destinations and attract hospitality operators.
The concentration of planned development illustrates that role. Knight Frank’s Destination Saudi 2024 report estimated that giga-projects accounted for nearly 73% of the Kingdom’s planned hotel supply pipeline. That is a measure of future accommodation plans—not PIF’s precise share of investment or completed hotel openings—but it demonstrates the weight of the flagship developments.
The next challenge is to broaden the investment base: encouraging more owners and developers to commit capital across destinations, supported by commercially viable hotel projects.
Seen in that context, the new approvals are an important implementation milestone. They show the government using incentives to encourage private development alongside its sovereign-backed destination strategy.
What does the programme actually offer?
Hospitality Investment Enablers is part of the broader Tourism Investment Enablers Programme introduced in 2024. Its purpose is to improve the economics of hospitality projects by reducing costs and easing development obstacles.
Ministry-hosted investment material identifies favourable access to government-owned land, simpler project development processes and regulatory adjustments intended to lower operating costs among the initiative’s tools. The October announcement does not disclose the package awarded to each approved project.
At an April 2024 workshop, officials explained that the programme supported Saudi and foreign investors, covered hotel projects across categories, and included both new developments and projects already under construction. The stated minimum project investment was SAR15 million (approx US$4m), excluding land value. These were the conditions described at that time; the latest release does not restate eligibility requirements.
That inclusion of projects already under construction also helps explain how a beneficiary could open shortly after the approvals announcement.
Minister Al-Khateeb said: “The Hospitality Investment Enablers Program reflects our long-standing commitment to enabling private-sector investment and responding to the Kingdom’s growing tourism demand. By expanding hospitality capacity in high-potential destinations, we are doing more than adding rooms. We are unlocking new investment opportunities, stimulating economic activity across tourism destinations, and supporting sustainable tourism growth. The first approved projects reflect investor confidence in the opportunities offered by Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector and the role of private-sector partnerships in turning these opportunities into projects that contribute to destination development.”
Al-Saif affirmed that the tourism sector is a priority of the National Investment Strategy, given the significant investment opportunities it presents and its role in diversifying the economy and increasing its contribution to GDP, supporting the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. He added: “The Hospitality Investment Enablers Program is a model of government collaboration to develop enablers that strengthen private-sector participation, stimulate high-quality investment and develop the attractiveness of investment opportunities in promising tourism destinations. In partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and other relevant entities, we are working to strengthen the investment environment and simplify the investor journey, helping turn opportunities into sustainable projects, maximize their economic and developmental impact, create jobs and increase local content.”
Saudi investors or foreign capital?
The programme is designed to attract both. However, the ministries have not identified the owners of these 19 projects or disclosed how much of their anticipated investment comes from Saudi companies, overseas investors or joint ventures.
Private participation is also already developing through partnerships with PIF businesses. In September 2026, PIF-owned tourism investment company ASFAR inaugurated Gamra Mountain Resort in Al-Baha, identifying IHCC as its private-sector partner.
The emerging picture is therefore one of several investment models developing together, including private projects supported by government incentives and partnerships involving sovereign-backed developers.
Where will the new hotels be?
Earlier reporting by Ajel, citing the Ministry of Tourism, identified the first group’s five destinations as Al-Baha, Al-Ahsa, Jeddah, Asir and the Eastern Province. The October release does not provide a property-by-property allocation.
Approximately 40% of the planned rooms will be in coastal destinations. However, the individual hotels, their operators and the identity of the property expected to open before year-end remain unspecified in the announcement.
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RESOURCE for INVESTORS: https://cdn.mt.gov.sa/files/Hospitality-Investor.pdf?v=1790380800189
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Photo top of page courtesy of SPA.
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