Retail Tourism in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: The Past, The Present & The Future

MOHAMMAD ALAWI

Partner & Chief Executive Officer Real Estate Development Solutions (REDS) Member - Tourism & Cultural Sector Council, Jeddah Chamber, Executive Committe Chairman Red Sea Markets Co. (Red Sea Mall)

A strategy think tank, with over 35 years of experience in creating successful developments and renovating existing retail properties in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Mohammad is a public Saudi figure on the retail scene. He moves ahead of his time by utilizing all the state-of-the-art resources to achieve his goals. Currently, Mohammad serves as the Chairman of the Board for Jeddah Central Markets, Member of the Tourism Cultural Sector Council - Jeddah Chamber, Chairman Leasing Committee for AWJ Holding, CEO and Partner of Real Estate Development Solutions (REDS) , Board Member for Azad Properties and Executive Committee Chairman at Red Sea Markets Co. (Red Sea Mall)

Previously called the Arabian Peninsula, now lies a kingdom of trade, people and a long history of prosperity and resilience. Trade flourishes in this area since ancient times, even before Islam comes to the land of Saudi and even before Prophet Muhammad. In fact, it was mentioned in the Quran, a verse in the holy book of Quraish and Surah about a trip to the North during the summer and South to now Yemen, in the winter. It was called the famous trip of the winter and summer. Traders venture this part of the world all the way to Syria, where it is used to be called Sham, and all the region to Palestine, Iraq and all other places going to Asia, Europe and Africa exchanging all manners of products. This is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - an intersection for the world, where millions arrive at marvelling souqs and bazaars akin to the ‘Grand Bazaars’ in Istanbul, Turkey, Damascus and Egypt. Today with its centre in Riyadh and Jeddah, it is the hub transit for retailers. Jeddah is the gate to access the two holy

mosques, especially for the trip of Hajj to Madinah. It becomes an exchange, a wall street for retail you might say, where people can bring their products to and from the local market. A big business, developed by the people that by blood and history are known as traders of the old world. This environment evolved to be “Shopping Malls” and like its reputation in the old era, is now a thriving industry for the modern world. Trade is by blood in the KSA or in this region where people believed that trade is building cultural relations between people in different languages.

The Vision 2030 and what it means for the Retail and Shopping Centre Industry

Under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Vision 2030 was launched, a roadmap was drawn up by His Royal Highness King Salman and the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, to harness the strengths God bestowed upon Saudi – the strategic position, investment power and place at the centre of Arab and Islamic worlds to capitalize the major assets of the country. One of the major assets of the country is tourism and it has been a key area of focus. Tourism in Saudi Arabia is full of heritage. A long history of heritage and great places that have never been seen will attract millions, if not billions, of global citizens.

Tourism is the major pillar of Vision 2030. With this initiative, in cooperation with the Tourism Project Fund, we have seen the start of major developments starting from the north near the Jordan and Iraq border, to the South where you will feel and see the rain and forests. The Vision 2030, forecasts around 100 million tourists every year and we have already recorded 15 million visitors in the last few months arriving in Riyadh. Early this year, the government launched the “Digital Tourism Strategy” to help enrich efforts of rebuilding the tourism sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in a way that realizes the objectives of Vision 2030. Just recently, the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2022) was held at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia. A lot of tourist people came from GCC, Europe and other countries. One of the discussions I had with the people I met is about their experience in visa application which they find very easy. This proves that more and more tourists will visit the Kingdom. Aside from the visa, there are a lot of actions that have been taken care of when it comes to tourism to attract more tourists to the country. The Covid-19 situation has been a challenge, but it is also true that through the pandemic we learned, just like from many difficulties we have faced before. It helped us develop more streamlined processes, planning and developing the right technology. Today, not discounting the fact that this experience has been difficult for all of us, we bounced back stronger and bolder. An efficient and effective application of Metaverse, retail applications and even new visa processing tools to name a few, will further make our country more accessible and convenient for all.

Megaprojects are happening left and right, with huge components of retail and entertainment. To name a few, these are NEOM, The Rig, The Oxagon, and with all things coming (let’s call it “cooking”), we are now able to see more and more flavours of Saudi Arabia, to cater for all nationalities around the world.

This is the right time to come and explore. Capitalize on all new projects happening in the kingdom, as this will create jobs, businesses and opportunities. Saudi Tourism will bring a big positive impact economic wise. With the growth of tourism in the country, I can say that retail is the most lucrative business for the young generation to pursue their career.