Hotel habitas alula9/10/2023 ![]() ![]() Such numbers could make Saudi Arabia one of the top five global tourism destinations in the world. Saudi Arabia’s TDF was established three years ago with an initial capital pot of US$4 billion to propel the Kingdom’s travel and tourism industry.Īs part of Saudi Vision 2030, a strategic framework set up to reduce Saudi Arabia’s dependence on oil, diversify its economy, and develop public service sectors, The National Tourism Strategy of Saudi Arabia wants to double the number of annual international and domestic travellers to the country to 100 million by 2030 and increase tourism’s share of the economy from three per cent to 10 per cent, a document on the fund’s website revealed. Habitas AlUla features three luxury tiers and 96 guest rooms, including the premium villa offerings Celestial Villas, Alcove Villas and Canyon Villas, as well as a yoga deck, fitness centre, restaurant and swimming pool. The brand has scaled significantly in the last two years especially, with hotel openings in Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Namibia, and it is aiming to bring new international and domestic travellers to its resorts, based on an ethos around sustainability, community empowerment and local storytelling. Having been launched by British entrepreneur Oliver Ripley and his partners in 2016, Habitas currently owns two properties in Saudi Arabia – the Habitas AlUla resort and a caravan campsite in a ‘living museum’ giga-project. The company, which also specialises in events and started out building glamping-style campsites for the Burning Man festival in the Nevada festival, is reportedly planning to expand from two existing sites to six, in potential destinations such as Jeddah and the capital city Riyadh, as well as other sites along the Red Sea coast. Arrivals from the US were up 58 percent.KSA: Habitas, a luxury hotel brand, experiential travel lodging and experiences company, has received US$400 million from the Saudi government and investment community as the Kingdom builds up its travel and tourism industry for a wave of international visitors in the coming years.Īccording to Bloomberg, the money has been invested through a ‘Habitas Fund’, created by The Saudi Tourism Development Fund, to potentially help the company’s expansion across the Kingdom and attract more tourists, although no specific details have been disclosed on how the investment will be spent. They were up 204 percent compared with the same period in 2019, according to data compiled for AGBI by travel trends and analytics company ForwardKeys.īookings from the UK were up 113 percent over the same review period. As of May 23, flight bookings to Saudi Arabia in June, July and August were mainly driven by arrivals from Egypt. International flight bookings to the kingdom this summer are up 8 percent compared with the same time in 2019. Saudi Arabia earlier this year announced the launch of a new stopover visa, allowing visitors to stay in the country for up to 96 hours. The kingdom recently launched a new instant e-visa to facilitate UK, US and Schengen visa holders and permanent residents of the UK, US and any EU country to obtain tourist e-visas through the ministry of foreign affairs. Under its Vision 2030 economic diversification plan, the kingdom aims to attract 100 million visitors yearly and grow tourism’s GDP contribution to 10 percent from 6 percent. Saudi Arabia is pursuing an ambitious tourism growth strategy, opening its doors to the world for the first time in 2018. The TDA, set up in June 2020 with $4 billion capital, seeks to promote local and international investments in tourism across key destinations in the kingdom. Ripley said Habitas AlUla is 60 percent full in the summer, with about 80 percent occupancy driven by locals. Habitas AlUla started in November 2021, following the signing of a new partnership between Habitas and The Royal Commission for AlUla. ![]() Launched in 2016, Habitas operates hotels in Mexico, Namibia and Saudi Arabia. “A lot of these locations were difficult to access, or access was until recently restricted for religious reasons,” the British entrepreneur said. ![]() ![]() “What’s amazing about the kingdom is just how diverse the geography is,” CEO Oliver Ripley said, adding that the investment in infrastructure has opened up much more of the country to potential visitors. Sites include the Red Sea coast and the capital Riyadh. The sustainable luxury hotel chain plans to open as many as six new properties, in addition to two existing ones in the kingdom, Bloomberg reported. Saudi Arabia’s Tourism Development Authority (TDA) has launched a SAR1.5 billion ($400 million) fund to open new properties with London-based hospitality management group Habitas across the kingdom. Habitas AlUla is 60 percent full in the summer, with about 80 percent occupancy driven by locals ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |