Indonesia has launched a major drive to attract more Saudi tourists this year. Its new two-day promotion ended at the Mall of Arabia this week.
The Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah, which organized the event in coordination with the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, and Garuda Indonesia, was upbeat about the campaign and hoped to receive many more Saudi families during the year.
“This event aims to promote Indonesian destinations for the Kingdom’s residents, both citizens and expatriates,” said Nur Ibrahim, vice consul at the Indonesian Consulate General.
He opened the promotion with Aehmed Harun, inspector of Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy.
“The effort is also to focus on Indonesian travel and tourism agencies who are offering attractive travel packages to local tourists,” said Nur Ibrahim.
Fourteen Indonesian travel and tour agencies, and hotels from Indonesia joined the event showcasing their products and services, especially the country’s natural attractions.
Some Indonesian traditional dresses were on display, which children wore and had their pictures taken. Brochures and other printed promotion materials were distributed during the program.
“Last year, Indonesian tourism contributed $ 9.07 billion to the country’s foreign exchange earnings. The earnings were 6.03 percent higher than in the previous year’s (2011) $ 8.554 billion,” said Ibrahim. “Every year, Indonesia receives increasing number of visitors from Saudi Arabia compared to those from other parts of the world. That’s why we focus on our quality services in a bid to get more Saudi travelers,” he added.
According to Indonesian Statistics Agency BPS, 86,645 Saudi tourists visited Indonesia in 2012, 3.38 percent more than 83,815 visitors in 2011.
Harun said the Middle East has been a growing market for Indonesia, whose economy has remained robust since the beginning of 2013.
According to Harun, 1.29 million foreign tourists visited Indonesia in the first two months of 2013, a 3.82 percent increase over the same period in 2012, to 1.25 million tourists.
With more than 17,000 islands, Indonesia has many exotic natural attractions and ecotourism destinations that will hopefully draw more Saudi visitors, he said.
The Indonesian government has identified some priority destinations to be developed in the coming year, including Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Pangandaran in West Java, the Borobudur–Prambanan areas in Central Java and Yogya-Sleman in Yogyakart, besides others in East Java, Southeast Sulawesi, Derawan islands in East Kalimantan, Pulau Weh in Aceh, as well as in Jakarta and Bali.
Indonesia tourism drive targets Saudi families
Indonesia tourism drive targets Saudi families
PIF’s Humain invests $3bn in Elon Musk’s xAI prior to SpaceX acquisition
JEDDAH: Humain, an artificial intelligence company owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, invested $3 billion in Elon Musk’s xAI shortly before the startup was acquired by SpaceX.
As part of xAI’s Series E round, Humain acquired a significant minority stake in the company, which was subsequently converted into shares of SpaceX, according to a press release.
The transaction reflects PIF’s broader push to position Saudi Arabia as a central hub in the global AI ecosystem, as part of its Vision 2030 diversification strategy.
Through Humain, the fund is seeking to combine capital deployment with infrastructure buildout, partnerships with leading technology firms, and domestic capacity development to reduce reliance on oil revenues and expand into advanced industries.
The $3 billion commitment offers potential for long-term capital gains while reinforcing the company’s role as a strategic, scaled investor in transformative technologies.
CEO Tareq Amin said: “This investment reflects Humain’s conviction in transformational AI and our ability to deploy meaningful capital behind exceptional opportunities where long-term vision, technical excellence, and execution converge, xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by its acquisition by SpaceX, one of the largest technology mergers on record, represents the kind of high-impact platform we seek to support with significant capital.”
The deal builds on a large-scale collaboration announced in November at the US-Saudi Investment Forum, where Humain and xAI committed to developing over 500 megawatts of next-generation AI data center and computing infrastructure, alongside deploying xAI’s “Grok” models in the Kingdom.
In a post on his X handle, Amin said: “I’m proud to share that Humain has invested $3 billion into xAI’s Series E round, just prior to its historic acquisition by SpaceX. Through this transaction, Humain became a significant minority shareholder in xAI.”
He added: “The investment builds on our previously announced 500MW AI infrastructure partnership with xAI in Saudi Arabia, reinforcing Humain’s role as both a strategic development partner and a scaled global investor in frontier AI.”
He noted that xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by SpaceX’s acquisition, exemplifies the high-impact platforms Humain aims to support through strategic investments.
Earlier in February, SpaceX completed the acquisition of xAI, reflecting Elon Musk’s strategy to integrate AI with space exploration.
The combined entity, valued at $1.25 trillion, aims to build a vertically integrated innovation ecosystem spanning AI, space launch technology, and satellite internet, as well as direct-to-device communications and real-time information platforms, according to Bloomberg.
Humain, founded in August, consolidates Saudi Arabia’s AI initiatives under a single entity. From the outset, its vision has extended beyond domestic markets, participating across the global AI value chain from infrastructure to applications.
The company represents a strategic initiative by PIF to diversify the Kingdom’s economy and reduce oil dependence by investing in knowledge-based and advanced technologies.
