RIYADH: Saudi Arabia plans to add 250,000 hotel rooms by 2030, with the private sector signing contracts to build 75,000 of them, according to the minister of tourism. Speaking during a ministerial panel session at the Private Sector Forum held in Riyadh, Ahmed Al-Khateeb stated that the total number of hotel rooms in the Kingdom has reached 280,000 since the end of 2023. “The quality of the rooms and projects is very excellent and will place the Kingdom among the best in the world. The target for 2030 is approximately 550,000 hotel rooms,” the minister said, adding: “Today, we continue to reach 10 percent contribution to the gross domestic product, and we have reached 7 percent contribution to the non-oil GDP.” Al-Khateeb also announced that the Kingdom has surpassed its initial target of attracting 100 million tourists by the year 2030, revealing that Saudi Arabia has welcomed 100 million tourists, comprising 77 million domestic travelers and 27 million international visitors. “When we reached the goal of 100 million tourists, the crown prince directed us to reach 150 million. The goal is moving, and we will continue and are working now on a strategy to reach 150 million tourists, 80 million from within and 70 million from abroad,” the minister said. Adding: “In 2019, around 10 million pilgrims were coming to us, and last year, we reached 27 million pilgrims coming from abroad who spent more than SR100 billion ($26.67 billion).” During the session, Al-Khateeb also stated that approximately 12 resorts on the Red Sea will open within a year and a half. The Central Jeddah Project is land that was used for air defense, however Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman directed it to move so that the waterfront could be used by citizens, according to the minister. “The Jeddah Project be established there on an area of ​​approximately 5 million sq. meters at a cost that will reach SR75 billion,” he stated. Adding: “We have two phases in the council from the private sector. The first phase will open in 2027. The project includes shopping and hotels, and yesterday, we celebrated the signing of contracts worth SR12 billion. We expect that it will greatly support tourism in Jeddah.” He also said that it has attracted big names from hotels that are coming to the Kingdom for the first time, and “soon it will sign with them and announce them.”