Red Sea Global opened Shebara (Sheybarah), its first owned and operated resort, expanding the luxury tourism sector in Saudi Arabia, according to local media.
The project, comprising 73 overwater and beachfront villas, was built with off-site construction techniques to protect the local marine ecosystem. CEO John Pagano stated:
This is yet another remarkable milestone for Red Sea Global and Saudi tourism. This luxury, truly one-of-a-kind resort embodies our commitment to innovative design and sustainable tourism.
Shebara becomes the fourth resort to open at the Red Sea complex, with bookings available from November. Meanwhile, the number of worshippers travelling to places, such as Mecca and Medina, to complete Hajj remains tightly regulated due to growing annual demand and concerns that illegal pilgrims would put unnecessary pressure on the holy sites.
Earlier in April, Saudi Arabia forecast that it would have 320,000 new hotel rooms by 2030, as the Kingdom intensifies efforts to accommodate an annual influx of 150 million tourists. This massive expansion of the hospitality sector is also crucial to achieving Saudi Arabia’s goal of boosting the travel and tourism industry’s contribution to the economy from nearly 6 per cent to 10 per cent by the end of the decade, according to the report.
A significant hotel boom is expected in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Property developers are building 221,000 new rooms to cater for religious tourists. The number is expected to reach 30 million a year by 2025 and 50 million by 2030.
Knight Frank estimates that it will cost around $104 billion to build 320,000 new hotel rooms across the country alone, of which $70 billion will be spent on the religious tourist centres of Mecca and Medina.
