Saudi Arabia eyes 7.5 mn Indian travellers as Riyadh pushes Vision 2030

In Short Saudi Arabia is looking at welcoming 7.5 million Indian tourists by 2030, says Saudi Tourism's Alhasan Aldabbagh Tourism is right at the centre of Saudi Arabia's grand Vision 2030 Pop concerts, sports events, festivals, all are part of Saudi Arabia's plan for the coming years Saudi Arabia has a grand Vision 2030 and tourism forms the core of it. The country expects to host 7.5 million Indian travellers by 2030, from across the business, leisure and religious segments. This aggressive push for tourism also includes various concerts and sports events, says Alhasan Aldabbagh, president of APAC markets at Saudi Tourism Authority. Alhasan Aldabbagh was in the capital for SATTE, where India Today caught up with him. Over a half-hour chat, Aldabbagh tells us that 'discussions were on' about getting various popstars to Saudi Arabia. When we ask if Taylor Swift was among these names, he says, "We'll see... maybe there will be some good news soon." But Taylor Swift or not, Saudi Arabia is quite the destination to visit. The country has its eyes set firmly on Vision 2030. By 2030, the world will see a new Saudi Arabia emerging out of the desert as Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman pushes the pedal on development, infrastructure, and tourism. Saudi Arabia is looking east for tourism, and India is bang at the centre of their scaling-up plans. "I believe if you are true about your objectives and ambition about a market like India... we need to understand the people. And once we understand the people and the differences, and India is a big market - with many cities, with many geographical areas, with many cultures, many languages, and religions... Once we understand that, we can design more customised offers for the different regions. And this is how we will truly become a top destination for the India market," says Aldabbagh. Everything that Saudi Arabia is doing at the moment is aligned towards its Vision 2030. If you were to go on social media - be it X, Instagram or Facebook, you would be bombarded by sponsored ads from Saudi Tourism. The promotion is aggressive, and on a massive scale, so, of course, tourism plays a large part in Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030. "Tourism links to everything in the vision, because the vision has three pillars: the first pillar is a vibrant society, the second pillar is an ambitious nation, and the third is a thriving economy. You will see that tourism is part of every single pillar because it connects everything," says Aldabbagh.