Increase hotel rooms in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is looking to increase the supply of hotel rooms to 600,000 by 2020, a news report said. Initiatives for the development of the country's leisure and hospitality sector and tourism support were discussed at the recent hotel investment conference, Arab News reported. The Kingdom has more than 2,000 licensed and classified hotels. The number of residential units has grown to more than 6000 licensed and classified, while the number of hotel rooms is more than 500,000 rooms by the end of 2018. Investors have been invited to look beyond the major cities of Saudi Arabia, emphasizing the need to promote tourism and national heritage industries. In fact, recent annual statistics show that travel and tourism account for 9.4% of Saudi Arabia's gross domestic product, with passenger spending increasing 10.5% annually ($ 14.8 billion). As the country diversifies its economy, in line with Vision 2030, the number of international arrivals is expected to grow by 4% per year, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), with a link to 22.1 million by 2025.