Saudi Arabia's $500 billion mega-city Neom is planning to open the first of its hotels by the end of 2022 as it targets hosting about one million visitors by 2025 and 5m by 2030, its tourism chief said.
The futuristic city will open up to 15 hotels a year in the period between 2023 and 2025, before ramping up the pace to 20 to 30 hotels annually thereafter, Andrew McEvoy, sector head of tourism at Neom, told The National during the Arabian Travel Market on Tuesday.
"We're now under way, so we're starting to develop our first assets, by the end of next year our first hotels will start to come out of the ground, there's a lot of construction going on," he said. "The first hotels will open by the end of next year."
Neom, on the west coast of the kingdom north of the Red Sea, is one of the signature giga-projects in Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s drive to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy away from oil. It will develop 14 key economic sectors for the future from biotech to mobility. Neom's tourism sector is expected to contribute $16bn to the kingdom's gross domestic product by 2030.
With a mix of four-star and five-star properties, the mega-city aims to attract all kinds of visitors.
"If you think about getting five million visitors by 2030, you need a lot of room keys," Mr McEvoy said.
"We're not just a sun and sea leisure destination," he said. "We'll have the full mix of what I call the visitor economy: so everyone from corporate travellers to people who are taking an adventure trip or a holiday."
Neom's tourism sector is currently in discussions with major hotel brands and is close to finalising the details, Mr McEvoy said.
"We've spoken to the big five brands, IHG, Hilton, Accor, etc. and we're well under way with that," Mr McEvoy said.
There will be plenty of outdoor activities to keep the hotel visitors busy during their stay.
"If you came in now you can snorkel, dive, kitesurf, hike, mountain bike, so all of these natural assets will be developed in the next 12 months," he said. "Our first visitors will be either fly-and flop, sun-and-sea, and a super-yacht audience because the Red Sea really lends itself to that."
Off the coast of Neom there are 39 islands, 10 of which will be developed "over time", the executive said.
The initial number of visitors expected next year is expected to be between 20,000 to 50,000, Mr McEvoy said.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, which disrupted global trade and forced governments to shut borders, work on Neom's tourism project accelerated.
"During Covid, the kingdom ... doubled down, we worked harder, we got ahead of the game, we did not stop," he said. "So I think we're in a good position."
The project's delivery targets will be met on time, Mr McEvoy added.
The project will not require raising funds as it is backed by the Public Investment Fund, he said.
The next tourism projects in Neom will be in the stretch along the Aqaba Gulf and the Red Sea coast, a "big development" at the port, and development in the mountains, Mr McEvoy said.
This is in addition to The Line, a 170km-belt of re-imagined urban development.
"The next projects which will be announced, beyond The Line, will be one of those beautiful regional destinations that will put enough there so that people will have a great experience," he said.
The futuristic city is built on the four pillars of heritage authenticity, environmental regeneration, Arabian hospitality and advanced technology.
"We all watched Star Wars and Avatar, and I think this will be literally science-fiction brought to life," Mr McEvoy said.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
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Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
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How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
The five pillars of Islam
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Results
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
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Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
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- Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
- Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
- Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer.
- Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
- Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
- John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
- Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
- Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
- Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain.
- Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
- James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
- Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
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The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm
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Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
if you go
The flights
Fly direct to Kutaisi with Flydubai from Dh925 return, including taxes. The flight takes 3.5 hours. From there, Svaneti is a four-hour drive. The driving time from Tbilisi is eight hours.
The trip
The cost of the Svaneti trip is US$2,000 (Dh7,345) for 10 days, including food, guiding, accommodation and transfers from and to Tbilisi or Kutaisi. This summer the TCT is also offering a 5-day hike in Armenia for $1,200 (Dh4,407) per person. For further information, visit www.transcaucasiantrail.org/en/hike/
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
