by Salman Rafi Sheikh, New Eastern Outlook:

Termed Saudi’s “new oil” industry, tourism ranks very high on Riyadh’s Vision 2030 strategic plan for the country’s economic transformation away from reliance on oil as the major source of revenue. According to the plan, the Saudis aim to raise about US$46 billion annually from tourism by the end of this decade, i.e., by 2030. Saudi’s goal and China’s contribution to world tourism seem to have a perfect synergy. Before Covid, 155 million Chinese tourists spent US$250 billion world-wide. With Saudi Arabia looking to attract tourism, China becomes a natural partner. Now that China has already lifted its “Zero-Covid” policy, tourism seems to be recovering. In this context, many meetings have already taken place between Saudi and Chinese officials with regard to promoting tourism. This is one side of the story. Saudi’s “new oil”, however, is not just about tourism, although it is a very important part of this whole economic diversification strategy. In fact, the synergy between China and Saudi Arabia – which also builds on the long-standing Saudi supply of oil to China – in tourism reflects a deeper convergence of Saudi’s Vision-2030 and China’s Belt & Road Initiative (BRI). Both programmes involve a rhetoric of massive economic transformation.