Opportunities for investors are expanding every month as we develop #AlUla #FII2019

I enthusiastically attended last week’s Future Investment Initiative (FII) on behalf of the Royal Commission for AlUla. Economic reforms such as the foreign investor license have led to new approaches to development, with Saudi Arabia ranked as the most improved economy globally in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 report.

With the eyes of the global investment community on Saudi Arabia it gave the RCU another platform to talk about our vision for AlUla to be the place of heritage for the world. We showcased the multitude of investment opportunities that exist across archaeology, tourism, culture, education and the arts. These opportunities are expanding every month as we develop AlUla in three phases.

The first phase of AlUla’s development is focused on building a luxury brand by 2023, and this requires new models of financing for both infrastructure and assets, and collaborating with experienced global leaders in the private sector and banking.

With three priority attractions scheduled to open in 2020, visitor numbers are set to grow exponentially. 

So, we are establishing a logistics and transport hub that will act as a gateway to northwestern Saudi Arabia. Infrastructure investment is continuing apace with AlUla’s airport expansion programme underway to increase capacity four-fold to 400,000 passengers a year, allied to increased space for aircraft and new terminal facilities. The airport is a key requirement in our enabling infrastructure needs, and, as prescribed by the RCU Charter, we are deploying smart- city solutions.

The #AlUla airport is the infrastructure project that will elevate AlUla to a northwestern logistics hub in Saudi Arabia, for the region and beyond. #FII2019

One immediate benefit to this work is that we can increase the number of flights Saudia offers from Jeddah and Riyadh for the forthcoming Winter at Tantora festival. This seasons of performances and events draws from the essence of AlUla, and produces, presents and stages some of the world’s foremost talents in music, art and design. Our flagship Winter at Tantora Festival attracted nearly 37,000 guests in the inaugural year. This winter we hope to welcome many more to AlUla. Some of the world’s leading brands are already our partners such as Aman who will operate their first resort in the Middle East in AlUla, and Jean Nouvel, who is designing the Sharaan Resort among its historic rocks and canyons. We are also finalising deals with other global brands as investors become increasingly aware of the uniqueness of what AlUla has to offer, and the destination potential we are realising – stay tuned for Q1 2020.

Our growing international investment portfolio is piquing interest, evidenced in the conversations I had at FII with infrastructure and equity funds, who can see the potential Build- Operate Transfer (BOT) financing and PPP have in the Kingdom- and the actual projects they can partner on with RCU. This process will become more efficient as we introduce a streamlined supplier portal for vendors in Q1, reducing operational red tape and increasing the ease of doing business for our valued partners.

We are also inviting partnerships with local and international investors to develop, boost and create local content; substituting imports with locally manufactured products and service provision in sectors as diverse as construction materials through to educational programmes in hospitality.

Our focus for FII was on the global stage – sharing our powerful vision for AlUla’s future and its myriad opportunities. We are keeping up the momentum, participating in travel trade shows across the world – our team exhibited at the International Luxury Travel Market in Shanghai this past week, and are moving on to the World Travel Market trade show in London. And we will visit even more of our target markets, with an international investor roadshow tied to our ambitious destination marketing plans. We are looking to work with investors who will help us protect and enhance that vision as we prepare to open AlUla to the world in October 2020. 

The Experience AlUla booth at the International Luxury Travel Market in Shanghai, where the destination marketing team met select luxury travel advisors to the Chinese market