Saudi Arabia's tourism industry is unique in that despite the limitations of strict entrance visa regulations,the industry has strong growth potential. BMI forecasts tourist arrivals to the country to grow by 5%year-on-year (y-o-y) to 12.91mn in 2010, after remaining constant in 2009 at just over 12mn. We forecastthe number of tourist arrivals to grow by an average of 6.7% y-o-y to the end of our forecast period in2014. One of the main drivers for the tourism industry is religious tourism. Saudi Arabia is home to twoof Islam's holiest cities, Mecca and Medina, and every year millions of Muslims come to Mecca for theHajj, the largest annual pilgrimage in the world. In 2009, we expected concern about the spread of theH1N1 virus (swine flu) to cause a slight decline in pilgrimage numbers but so far in 2010 the virus hasnot put much downward pressure on the industry. Business travel is also a growing area, given SaudiArabia's status as the world's largest oil exporter, not to mention its other large industries such asdefence. That said, events in Yemen could threaten the stability of Saudi Arabia, as well as the widerregion, potentially affecting inbound tourism.The hospitality sector looks set to grow in tandem with tourist arrivals. BMI forecasts that there will be319,000 hotel rooms in Saudi Arabia by 2014, up from 218,000 in 2009. In 2009, a number ofinternational chains opened their first hotels in the market, including Rotana, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts,Accor and Raffles Hotels & Resorts. Those already present in the market are expanding, withInterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Al Hokair Group, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Rezidor HotelGroup and Wyndham Hotel Group all opening new hotels in 2010.The Saudi authorities have said they want to diversify away from their dependence on oil, and the tourismindustry has been a focal point. Government expenditure has focused on developing the religious tourismand business travel sectors in particular, and for this reason we forecast an increase in collectivegovernment expenditure (expenditure that cannot be assigned to a particular group of tourists) andindividual government expenditure, which refers to investment in services with an identifiable individualcustomer, over the forecast period.The government is also keen to develop its domestic tourism market in an effort to capture some of thecapital spent by the millions of Saudi citizens that travel abroad each year. Saudi tourists mainly travel toother countries in the Middle East. Despite efforts to encourage more Saudis to holiday at home, weforecast the number of citizens travelling abroad increasing from an estimated 8.19mn in 2009 to10.74mn by 2014. International tourism expenditure is also forecast to increase, reaching US$8.47mn bythe end of the forecast period.Saudi Arabia has been boosting its international presence and tourism marketing in 2010. The tourismboard has announced that it will be holding 18 festivals and targeting all age groups. The festivals will beheld throughout the country and will include sports events, entertainment, and Saudi culture and heritage.Four new provincial museums, in Bahah, Tabuk, Hail and Dammam, are scheduled to be established inthe next two years, while the tourism authorities have also licensed 40 private museums to be establishedusing the latest technology to showcase Saudi Arabia's heritage and antiquities. Internationally, SaudiArabia's pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010, which runs from May to October, is attracting over30,000 people every day. The Saudi pavilion is the second largest, after China's. To further cement thecountry's global tourism footprint, the travel publisher Lonely Planet has announced that it intends torelease a guide on tourist spots in Saudi Arabia.

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Saudi Arabia Tourism Report Q4 2010
Published on October 2010
Report Summary
Saudi Arabia's tourism industry is unique in that despite the limitations of strict entrance visa regulations,
the industry has strong growth potential. BMI forecasts tourist arrivals to the country to grow by 5%
year-on-year (y-o-y) to 12.91mn in 2010, after remaining constant in 2009 at just over 12mn. We forecast
the number of tourist arrivals to grow by an average of 6.7% y-o-y to the end of our forecast period in
2014. One of the main drivers for the tourism industry is religious tourism. Saudi Arabia is home to two
of Islam's holiest cities, Mecca and Medina, and every year millions of Muslims come to Mecca for the
Hajj, the largest annual pilgrimage in the world. In 2009, we expected concern about the spread of the
H1N1 virus (swine flu) to cause a slight decline in pilgrimage numbers but so far in 2010 the virus has
not put much downward pressure on the industry. Business travel is also a growing area, given Saudi
Arabia's status as the world's largest oil exporter, not to mention its other large industries such as
defence. That said, events in Yemen could threaten the stability of Saudi Arabia, as well as the wider
region, potentially affecting inbound tourism.
The hospitality sector looks set to grow in tandem with tourist arrivals. BMI forecasts that there will be
319,000 hotel rooms in Saudi Arabia by 2014, up from 218,000 in 2009. In 2009, a number of
international chains opened their first hotels in the market, including Rotana, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts,
Accor and Raffles Hotels & Resorts. Those already present in the market are expanding, with
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Al Hokair Group, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Rezidor Hotel
Group and Wyndham Hotel Group all opening new hotels in 2010.
The Saudi authorities have said they want to diversify away from their dependence on oil, and the tourism
industry has been a focal point. Government expenditure has focused on developing the religious tourism
and business travel sectors in particular, and for this reason we forecast an increase in collective
government expenditure (expenditure that cannot be assigned to a particular group of tourists) and
individual government expenditure, which refers to investment in services with an identifiable individual
customer, over the forecast period.
The government is also keen to develop its domestic tourism market in an effort to capture some of the
capital spent by the millions of Saudi citizens that travel abroad each year. Saudi tourists mainly travel to
other countries in the Middle East. Despite efforts to encourage more Saudis to holiday at home, we
forecast the number of citizens travelling abroad increasing from an estimated 8.19mn in 2009 to
10.74mn by 2014. International tourism expenditure is also forecast to increase, reaching US$8.47mn by
the end of the forecast period.
Saudi Arabia has been boosting its international presence and tourism marketing in 2010. The tourism
board has announced that it will be holding 18 festivals and targeting all age groups. The festivals will be
held throughout the country and will include sports events, entertainment, and Saudi culture and heritage.
Four new provincial museums, in Bahah, Tabuk, Hail and Dammam, are scheduled to be established in
the next two years, while the tourism authorities have also licensed 40 private museums to be established
using the latest technology to showcase Saudi Arabia's heritage and antiquities. Internationally, Saudi
Arabia's pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010, which runs from May to October, is attracting over
30,000 people every day. The Saudi pavilion is the second largest, after China's. To further cement the
country's global tourism footprint, the travel publisher Lonely Planet has announced that it intends to
release a guide on tourist spots in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia Tourism Report Q4 2010 Page 1/5

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Table of Content
Executive Summary . 5
SWOT Analysis .... 7
Saudi Arabia Tourism SWOT . 7
Saudi Arabia Political SWOT 7
Saudi Arabia Economic SWOT ... 8
Saudi Arabia Business Environment SWOT .... 8
Market Overview .. 9
Arrivals .... 9
Table: Arrivals Data, 2006-2014 9
Accommodation .... 11
Table: Accommodation Data, 2006-2014 12
Expenditure . 13
Table: Tourist Expenditure & Economic Impact, 2006-2014 .. 13
Inbound Tourism ... 14
Table: Inbound Tourism Data, 2006-2014 .... 14
Outbound Tourism 16
Table: Outbound Tourism Data, 2006-2014 . 16
Table: Departures By Destination Country, 2006-2014 ('000) .... 17
Market Overview ' Travel . 18
Air Travel .... 18
Rail Travel .. 19
Road Travel 20
Global Oil Products Price Outlook 21
Table: Oil Product Price Data & Forecasts, 2010 (US$/bbl) . 23
Table: Oil Product Price Data & Forecasts, 2007-2014 (US$/bbl) .. 24
Market Overview ' Hospitality ... 25
Hotels 25
Business Environment Outlook . 27
BMI's Security Ratings ... 27
Table: Middle East And Africa Defence & Security Ratings .. 27
Table: Middle East And North Africa State Vulnerability To Terrorism Index 28
City Terrorism Rating 28
Table: BMI's Middle East And North Africa City Terrorism Index .. 29
Middle East And North Africa Security Overview ... 30
Global Assumptions ... 32
Table: Global Assumptions, 2009-2014 ... 32
Table: Global & Regional Real GDP Growth, 2009-2012 .... 33
Table: BMI And Consensus Forecasts, 2010-2011 (%) .... 34
Table: Developed States Real GDP Growth Forecasts, 2009-2012 (%) 34
Table: Emerging Markets Aggregate Growth, 2009-2012 (%) .... 36
Company Profiles ... 37
Saudi Arabian Airlines .... 37
Nas Air ... 37
Elaf Group .. 38
Saudi Arabia Tourism Report Q4 2010 Page 2/5

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Sama . 38
BMI Methodology ... 39
How We Generate Our Industry Forecasts ... 39
Tourism Industry ... 39
City Terrorism Ratings ... 40
Table: City Terrorism Ratings Methodology. 41
Sources .. 42
Saudi Arabia Tourism Report Q4 2010 Page 3/5

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