It was back in 2016 that Saudi Arabia launched its Vision 2030 strategy, when the country’s government made clear its plans for diversifying the economy and putting sustainability at the center of more than 20 individual projects powered by a renewable energy mix.

The kingdom has had successive economic development plans trying to move away from a reliance on fossil fuels. They started in the last century, but only now are major strides being taken with Vision 2030 which launched in the same period that the country’s GDP temporarily tanked (see chart below), but which has since revived and could pass the $1 trillion mark in 2022. This is being helped by non-oil activities taking a bigger share of the market.

Historically, oil has made the country very rich, but with the strong global movement away from oil and gas to renewables, a new approach was needed to ensure a pipeline of future revenues.

Saudi Arabia has turned to sustainable international tourism as a big part of its switch, with airports naturally playing an intrinsic role. The kingdom aims to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2060 and to do that it will accelerate its energy transition and sustainability targets, underpinned by a wave of investment that it is actively courting.

Billions of dollars are being pumped into a tourism development program that will become a new economic pillar. It is widely expected that at the next big global tourism gathering—World Travel Market in London next month—Vision 2030 projects will take the spotlight and make the investment message crystal clear.

So what will this over-arching strategy bring to international airport players?

Investor Insights