RIYADH: A new tourist resort is set for the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia after the Tourism Development Fund signed a memorandum of understanding with two developers. The agreement will see 440 hotel units, 41 villas, and various areas of restaurants, cafes, and recreational facilities over 262,000 sq. m. in Half Moon Beach, with the resort operated by French-based hospitality fim Accor. The MoU was signed at the Municipal Investment Forum “Fora” by the head of the business sector at the Tourism Development Fund, Wahdan Al-Qadi, the General Manager of FTG Development DMCC, Hakan Kiskin, and the CEO of Ishraq Development and Development Company, Zaki bin Hassan Al-Omran. Al-Omran said: “We were pleased today to sign this memorandum, which constitutes the company’s launch in supporting the tourism industry in the Kingdom and contributing to revitalizing tourism in the eastern region to make it a competitive tourist destination for regional and international coastal cities. “The company is keen to achieve its development vision and strategy based on expanding tourism projects, upgrading methods of development and investment, and finding attractive tourism projects that contribute to providing a unique experience in tourism investment and formulating its concept according to the best international experiences, thus contributing to achieving the quality of life in the region.” Also present was the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, and the Mayor of the Eastern Region, Fahd bin Muhammad Al-Jubeir, and the CEO of the Tourism Development Fund, Qusai bin Abdullah Al-Fakhri. Al-Fakhri said: “This memorandum is an extension of many other memorandums that were signed with the private sector within a system of joint complementary work with the aim of empowering the private sector by attracting local and foreign capital investments that contribute to supporting the tourism sector and enriching the targeted tourist destinations.” The Tourism Development Fund works to support investment in accordance with the national strategy for the sector, with the Kingdom aiming for 100 million visitors per year by 2030. Saudi Arabia ranked first among Arab nations for inbound visitors as more than 18 million travelers visited the Kingdom in the first nine months of 2022, according to the UN"s World Tourism Organization data. Saudi Arabia’s tourism spending reached $7.2 billion in the first half of last year, according to data recently released by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment.