RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s hospitality and tourism sector will witness a new wave of growth and investments with IHG Hotels & Resorts and Tashyid for Hotel Operations signing an agreement to build 12 new hotels for SR1.3 billion ($346.6 million). The deal will involve the construction of Holiday Inn Express hotels with 2,500 rooms across the Kingdom, with the first set to open in Jeddah by June 2025. “Saudi Vision 2030 has created tremendous opportunities for the tourism and hospitality industry, and we see an increasing demand for our brands across segments,” said Haitham Mattar, managing director of IHG Hotels & Resorts in India, Middle East and Africa, in a press statement. “We are delighted to partner with IHG Hotels & Resorts to enable our rapid expansion within Saudi Arabia, in line with Saudi’s Vision 2030,” said Falih Motasim Hajaj, CEO of Tashyid for Hotel Operations, in the statement. “With the Kingdom marking its presence on a global tourism map, working with leading industry partners such as IHG is key to helping set new standards of hospitality, embrace innovation and ultimately achieve a diversified economy,” Hajaj continued. The deal fits in with the Saudi Arabia’s National Tourism Strategy, which intends to attract 100 million visitors by 2030 and increase the sector’s contribution to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product to over 10 percent. In the Kingdom, IHG Hotels & Resorts runs 39 properties under five brands, including InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Staybridge Suites and Voco. In addition, it has 30 hotels in the construction pipeline slated to open within the next three to five years.