NEOM, Saudi Red Sea Authority to formulate marine tourism regulations

Image credit: Stefan Wermuth/ Getty Images

Saudi Red Sea Authority has joined forces with NEOM to develop legislation, regulations and technology in marine tourism.

NEOM and the Red Sea Authority plan to implement and activate joint initiatives to advance research, deliver innovation and enhance the visitor experience for tourists visiting Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coastal destinations.

Through the partnership, the Red Sea Authority seeks to integrate with relevant entities from the public, private and third sectors to achieve the goals of Vision 2030 in boosting the role of tourism as one of the major contributors to the overall GDP.

Saudi Arabia welcomed 27 million international visitors, up 56 per cent compared to the pre-pandemic levels while the number of domestic tourists reached 79 million, also up 56 per cent from 2019. It is investing billions of dollars in sports and culture to lure tourists and recently won the rights to the 2030 World Expo and 2034 FIFA World Cup.

NEOM and the Red Sea Authority will collaborate on several fronts including supporting opportunities available to investors in the field of coastal tourism and water activities, as well as planning and implementing other joint initiatives.

The partnership is part of the Red Sea Authority’s broader strategy to explore best practices to regulate navigational and marine tourism activities while ensuring sustainability and care for the environment.

NEOM advances Saudi tourism ambitions

Meanwhile, NEOM secured a new revolving credit facility worth $2.67bn (SAR10bn) from a consortium of local lenders in April.

The Public Investment Fund-backed mega-city said the facility will support its short-term financing requirements as it advances the development of major projects such as THE LINE.

The new revolving credit facility follows the SAR23bn agreement signed by NEOM and its partners to finance the NEOM Green Hydrogen Company in May 2023. It also follows last year’s SAR3bn debt financing arranged to partially fund NEOM’s development of Sindalah, the luxury island destination set to welcome visitors this year.

Last June, NEOM secured SAR21bn in financing and finalised contracts to develop the first phase of housing expansion for its workforce.

The mega project is expected to have the capacity for 450,000 people by 2026 and 1.5-2 million people by 2030, eventually housing nine million by 2045.

Read: Red Sea Global’s CEO shares how the firm is delivering on Saudi’s tourism agenda