RIYADH: The company tasked with turning palaces in Saudi Arabia into boutique hotels is hopeful it will announce the next batch of destinations by the end of the year, according to its CEO. Speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the Future Hospitality Summit in Riyadh, the head of Public Investment Fund-owned Boutique Group revealed as many as 10 palaces could be transformed over the next decade. Mark DeCocinis confirmed that work on turning Jeddah’s Al Hamra Palace into an ultra-luxury hotel is around “30 to 40 percent” complete, with its doors set to open for visitors by the first quarter of 2025. Al Hamra Palace is one of three being converted into resorts as part of the first phase of works in what is a key part of Saudi Arabia’s aim to become a global tourism hub and attract 100 million tourists annually by 2030. Speaking on the future plans for Boutique Group, DeCocinis said: “The vision is to identify other palaces, because there’s many historic and beautiful palaces. “We have other palaces that we will announce hopefully later this year that are under consideration right now. “I can’t announce them officially, but we will let you know as soon as that’s confirmed, but we do have plans.” Boutique Group was launched in January 2022 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the first three palaces identified were Al Hamra Palace, and Riyadh-based Tuwaiq Palace and Red Palace. DeCocinis was clear the vision from the crown prince was to see many more palaces transformed, but the company would “be very selective and careful” when it comes to selecting facilities. “I would say our goal, and the vision from His Royal Highness and with PIF, is we will have about 10 palaces in the next 10 years.” He added: “Right now, we’re in the key cities, but we will also look at if it’s time for some of the other regions, because we want to also help develop other parts of Saudi Arabia.” FHS Saudi Arabia took place from May 7-9 at Al Faisaliah Hotel in Riyadh under the theme of “Invest in Change,” with a focus on the importance of sustainability, innovation, start-ups and human capital development.