By combining ultra-premium luxury hotels with more accessible offerings, Red Sea Global hopes to attract a broad range of travellers to its Saudi Arabian tourism developments.
The Riyadh-based development company has been working on its ambitious plan to transform Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast into an iconic luxury travel destination since it was founded in 2017.
“By the end of this year, we’ll have 16 resorts,” Senior Manager Sales Development Travel Trade International Markets Turki Alshalawi told LATTE at the recent Essence of Phuket show. “By 2030, we’re aiming for 50 luxury resorts.”
Of these, five properties are already open, offering a unique range of experiences. “We have three experiences in one – we have mountains, desert, and islands,” he explained. “You cannot find this anywhere else.”
The centrepiece of the project, Shura Island, is set to host 11 high-end resorts. “We do have all the international brands – Four Seasons, SLS and Rosewood,” he said.
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Despite the luxury focus, the destination aims to be inclusive. “We have ultra luxury, luxury, and affordable luxury,” he said. “For example, Grand Hyatt is going to be affordable luxury with 430 keys. This is actually affordable.
“We want everyone to come and see Red Sea destination and see actually the product that we have.”
Sustainability is a foundational pillar of Red Sea Global’s plans for the 28,000 square kilometre area with the goal to become a “leading example” globally, according to Alshalawi. “We are powered by 100% renewable energy,” he said. “We’re developing only 1% of the land because of sustainability.”
The destination is already seeing strong interest from key markets, particularly in the GCC and Europe. Interest is growing in other areas too. “The American market – we’re getting there, but first you have to build awareness about the destination and Saudi Arabia overall,” Alshalawi noted.
Australia is also on the radar. “At this time, we haven’t done any sales activities in the Australia market,” he admitted, “But Saudi Tourism Authority is doing these activities on our behalf. It’s a really important market for us.”
While limited international flight options remain an obstacle, the outlook is positive. “Once we have more rooms, we’ll have more international flights,” Alshalawi predicted. “Now we have five flights from Riyadh, two from Dammam, two from Dubai, two from Jeddah. In the near future, we’ll have more from other destinations.”
Red Sea Global is also heavily engaging with the travel trade. “We are working with them now by inviting top accounts on familiarisation trips,” he said.
The focus, for now, is squarely on leisure tourism. “It’s a leisure market, but once we have the 16 resorts, four or five will cater to the MICE segment too.”
Next on the cards for the company is ultra-luxury, wellness-focused Amaala, Red Sea Global’s next destination which will launch this year. Recently, the company unveiled plans for Nammos Resort AMAALA – Nammos Hotels & Resorts’ first hotel outside of Greece.
