Saudi Arabia is the largest construction market in the Middle East. The construction and tourism industries are a crucial pillar of the government’s plan to boost Saudi Arabia’s economy as part of Saudi Vision 2030 to grow and diversify KSA’s economy. The vision has opened investment opportunities in the hospitality industry and resulted in many new hotels opening in key cities.
Olivier Harnish, an international hospitality expert with 35 years of experience, shares his outlook on Saudi Arabia’s Tourism and Hospitality market. He is also a Member of the Board of Directors for PIF Hotel Management Co., Senior Strategy Advisor to the Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia, Member of the Board of Directors for Egis and Founder of Lunasole Hospitality.
1. Saudi Arabia as a country is breaking the traditional age-old outlook of being a closed country and opening doors for large-scale international tourists. What are the different ways the Ministry of Tourism is trying to change this image and make KSA a new-age destination?
The pace of change in Saudi Arabia is stunning. You are right that until 2019 The Kingdom was relatively closed for leisure tourism. But that has changed dramatically. As a tourist, you can now apply for an e-visa online, which takes you less than ten minutes and the confirmation arrives within seconds. Saudi Arabia has an amazing potential as a tourism destination. Many people do not know that the Country has five UNESCO world heritage sites. The Ministry of Tourism is keen to change that lack of information. Besides the well-known amazing desert landscapes, we also have mountains, pristine beaches on the Red Sea and ancient historic sites. The Ministry is also very keen to develop the national labour market to ensure that all these new hotel and restaurant jobs will be filled by Saudi talent. This is a great opportunity in order to develop an authentic hospitality industry.
2. Since you have held several leadership positions in KSA hospitality companies, how would you see the transition, especially post-pandemic changes?
First let me say that this is a great time to be professionally active in Saudi Arabia. I believe that there is no country in the world that compares to what is currently happening there, especially when it comes to hospitality and tourism. Given that leisure tourism is a nascent industry in the Kingdom, it was much less affected than in other countries with more established tourism sectors who had to see their visitor numbers plummet. I was living in Riyadh throughout the pandemic and experienced how well the authorities handled the challenge. We continually had access to free testing and were offered vaccines early on. We see in the tourism and hospitality industry that Covid has spurred a drive towards investment into technology. One of the main challenges is the transition from outdated, fragmented legacy system to modern and integrated ones. Saudi Arabia’s opportunity in this context is to think holistically from the beginning and approach the issue strategically. For example, the number of incoming bookings which will be made and the enormous amounts of data points which will be collected, unlock tremendous opportunities in terms of value retention within the Kingdom.
3. As home to some of the most massive projects in the world, what do you think is the importance of quality suppliers undertaking such projects?
First and foremost, the classic attributes such as timeliness, dependability and quality are key. Saudi Arabia is on a long journey as articulated in Vision 2030 by His Royal Highness, The Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Hence Saudi Arabia needs strong partners, such as quality suppliers. I would add to that creativity and flexibility are also essential. The tourism industry is already well developed throughout the World and Saudi Arabia wants to create something that is unique, rather than copy concepts existing elsewhere. Also, such massive projects sometimes require directional adjustments on the way, and for this flexibility is important. But let me repeat that it is an amazing time to be in the Kingdom currently, opportunities are everywhere for quality suppliers who want to contribute to the journey.
4. Lastly, what are your thoughts on the upcoming RED Summit in Barcelona?
I look forward to the RED Summit and to having some quality conversations. Such international events are great to showcase the changes which are happening in the Kingdom and the opportunities that come with it. We have seen during Covid that online meetings and conferences are only imperfect substitutes of personal get togethers.
Olivier will be a part of a panel discussion – Hollistic Hospitality: All that the New Saudi has to offer at the 11th Edition Real Estate Development Summit – Saudi Arabia | Europe Edition on the 29th & 30th of June in Hotel Barceló Sants, Barcelona, Spain.
If you wish to join him at the RED Summit – Saudi Arabia; Register here.