RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s plan to invest about $800 billion in its tourism industry by 2030 is drawing international praise, with Indonesia’s tourism minister describing the Kingdom’s vision as “strategic and forward-looking,” and expressing interest in expanding cooperation between the two nations. 

Speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the 26th UN Tourism General Assembly in Riyadh, Indonesian Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana said the Kingdom’s commitment to developing tourism for the future is “very inspiring.” 

This comes as Saudi Arabia advances its Vision 2030 goal to make tourism a key driver of economic diversification, targeting 150 million visitors annually, a third from abroad. 

“The plan to invest about $800 billion in tourism by 2030 and host 150 million visitors over the next five years is very strategic and forward-looking,” said Wardhana. 

As leaders from across the world gathered in Riyadh to shape the future of global tourism for the next 50 years, she said: “I think this General Assembly is very important for us. This is, I think, the biggest turnout of ministers and delegates in one place.” 

Wardhana highlighted that tourism plays a vital role for Indonesia as well, adding that Jakarta is working to strengthen cooperation with Riyadh in this area. 

Referring to her meeting with Saudi Tourism Minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb, she said discussions included potential collaborations in human capital development.

“We have around 2,900 students graduating (every year) from our tourism polytechnics in Indonesia, and our total workforce in tourism is about 26 million,” she said. “As Saudi Arabia is developing (tourism sector) really fast, we can provide the manpower, very well trained in hospitality, to Saudi Arabia. I think that kind of collaboration is very important.”

On improving connectivity, Wardhana noted: “We should increase the connectivity of direct flights from Saudi Arabia to Indonesia and vice versa. Of course, we have to create the demand, but better connectivity is an important aspect of travel.” 

Commenting on religious tourism, as Saudi Arabia hosts Islam’s holiest sites in Makkah and Madinah and welcomes the largest number of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims from Indonesia, the minister noted that her country is also seeking to attract more Saudi visitors to its diverse natural and cultural destinations beyond Bali. 

“Our last year’s numbers were around 1.9 million Indonesians visiting Saudi Arabia for religious purposes,” she told Arab News. “Now, with the Kingdom investing hugely in the tourism sector, I believe we can increase that number because after completing their religious duties, they (pilgrims) can go to other places in the Kingdom and explore and experience Saudi destinations.” 

Last year, around 135,000 Saudi nationals visited Indonesia, and “we would certainly like to increase the number of Saudi travelers to Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population in the world,” Wardhana said. 

“We have 15 Muslim-friendly destinations that have been developed. We have halal food everywhere, mosques in Indonesia are very easy to find, and we have a history of Arab traders — these combined together can attract more visitors from Arab countries, especially from the Kingdom,” she added. 

As part of Indonesia’s promotional plans, the minister said the country will set up a special information desk to showcase Muslim-friendly tourism destinations and events.

“On our website, we are sharing information about travel destinations and services in Indonesia. So, everyone from Saudi Arabia, what they want to know, they can go on our website, Indonesia Travel, for that,” Wardhana said. 

She added that Indonesia is also improving its online platforms to better serve Arabic-speaking visitors. “We are also adding an API to the website, so you can have a chatbot in Arabic language with all kinds of information and itinerary proposals. We can launch this in two weeks,” she said. 

The minister added that Indonesia is opening more international airports with direct access to its 15 Muslim-friendly destinations. “With that kind of information and with more promotion in both countries, and more demand, airlines can open up with expansion to reach different places,” she said.

On Saudi Arabia hosting the UN Tourism General Assembly and launching the TOURISE Summit, Wardhana agreed that this is a decisive moment for shaping the next 50 years of global tourism. 

“It (TOURISE) is a very good initiative. They are going to launch it tonight,” the minister said. “It’s very good to have such events because we know that events create jobs. They also bring people from around the world to converge at the event. To do this is to raise a big event and promote tourism. It will be an extraordinary event for tourism.”