OAG has been taking a close look at the impact of Saudi Arabia’s
US$43.3 trillion Vision 2030 investment, whose aim is to make the
kingdom the key commercial and cultural centre in the Middle East.
“[Vision 2030] aims to eclipse anything yet seen in the United Arab Emirates, or more recently Qatar,” OAG said.
The aviation market will see some of the biggest changes as Saudi
Arabia builds airports in new cities, and launches new airlines to bring
in international tourists to experience new destinations and
experiences.
According to OAG, an additional 150,000 hotel rooms will become
available in the next few years, including seven-star luxury
accommodation investments in locations such as Al Ula and the Red Sea
Resorts.
“Hopes are for over half a million hotel rooms to be available per night by 2030,” OAG added.
Vision 2030 has a target to reach 300 million air passengers by 2030, 100 million of them tourists, which OAG says is an “extremely ambitious target”.
Saudi Arabia is already preparing Riyadh Air for take-off and OAG
expects the kingdom to announce “one or two other carriers” in the next
few months, including NEOM Air, which will be a full-service, all-luxury
airline.
Aircraft aside, OAG says a larger point is perhaps the availability
of qualified staff to run the operational side of enlarged airline
operations.
Whilst Riyadh Air aims to be digitally native, and NEOM Air hopes to
operate ‘innovative aircraft’, OAG says “attracting a pool of qualified
pilots with experience may be challenging”.
The BBC has also indicated that in recent months, Saudi Arabia has
“seemingly scaled back plans for its vast desert development project
Neom”, which is the centrepiece of Vision 2030.
Also being scaled back is The Line, a planned 170km long linear city
which may now initially extend for only 2.4km. When The Line was first
announced it was billed as a “carbon-free linear city” that would
redefine urban living, with amenities for residents like parks,
waterfalls, flying taxis, and robot maids.