“There has been an increase of 21 percent in the rate of domestic tourists reaching 77 million in 2022 compared with the previous year while the number of foreign tourists stood at 16.5 million during the year. The direct participation of the tourism sector in the GDP reached 3.2 percent.”
-Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Saudi Minister of Tourism. Total tourism spending amounted to SR185 billion during the year and this figure marks an increase of 93 percent as compared to the previous year, the minister said. [Saudi Gazette]
“The largest markets where Middle Eastern crude has increased market share are Italy, the Netherlands, Lithuania, and Poland—the latter a country of strategic focus for Saudi Aramco, which has expanded its downstream footprint there in recent years.”
The EU Ban on Russian Oil: Crude Implications for the Middle East [Center on Global Energy Policy]
In 2022 Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, “undertook more than ten international visits, received visits from 65 leaders, and launched 21 projects and strategies. In addition, the kingdom hosted 26 international conferences and 15 international sporting events and won 94 international scientific awards.”
HE Majid Al-Qasabi, Minister of Commerce. [Fast Company ME]
“The gaming industry in the MENA region is predicted to grow three-fold in just two years to hit the $5 billion mark by 2025, from an estimated $1.8 billion currently. The surge is drawing more intentional players – both publishers and development companies – into the region. Significantly, women are playing an increasingly significant role in the gaming industry in the region, with their numbers seen rising faster than men.”
“LEAP, as an event, is an excellent event in itself, but it has so much more to do with the market of Saudi Arabia, and this region being so attractive and so interesting for entrepreneurs at the moment. If we were to pick up LEAP, and put it into a country or a region that wasn’t the Middle East, it may look similar, but the transactions, the deals, the things that energize the event wouldn’t be the same. And what we see with Saudi Arabia is this massive intent to diversify its economy, and to become one of the most major tech adopters, investors, entrepreneurial hubs in the world, and also one of the biggest event hubs in the world. So, both of those dynamics together have been extremely conducive to LEAP becoming a substantial and major tech event, as well as the most attended tech event in the region.” Michael Champion, Informa’s Regional EVP for the MEA region and Head of Tahaluf. [Entrepreneur ME]
“Saudi Arabia is a young country – 40.2% of the population is aged 24 or younger, versus for example 31.4% in the US. And their love of movies has driven a rapid growth in cinemas: from a standing start in 2018, the country this year reached 342 screens and over 35,000 seats, with more growth to come.”
Charlene Deleon-Jones, Executive Director, Film AlUla [Broadcast Pro ME]
“It’s the first step in a long journey. But we’re committed to being part of the Saudi fabric. And you’ll see us more and more in the transformation that you see taking place in Saudi.”
-Aamer Sheikh, CEO, PepsiCo Middle East, moved from Dubai to Riyadh last month and said that other employees from the company’s “decision apparatus” would follow suit. [Al-Arabiya]
“Saudi Arabia’s industrial production index (IPI) for December 2022 witnessed a 7.3 percent increase compared to the same period last year. A surge in mining, quarrying, and manufacturing activity helped the growth in IPI, according to a report published by Saudi General Authority for Statistics.”
[Zawya]
“Saudi Arabia is strategically trying to position itself as an AfroEurasian hub — the center of a new world order. This positioning would enable Saudi Arabia to exert significant power and influence across a vast geographic area, which it is seeking to achieve by building relationships with key partners.”
Simon Chadwick, professor of sport and geopolitical economy, Skema Business School in Paris. The secret Saudi plan to buy the World Cup [Politico]
“We’re doing very well. We’re expanding and recently we opened Aramco Trading America (ATA). So now we’re around 6 million barrels per day trading volume (for all liquids).”
–Ibrahim Al-Buainain, CEO of Aramco Trading, in comments at the Indian Energy Week event in Bengaluru. [Reuters]
