Saudi Arabia to launch US$4B billion tourism fund
Saudi Arabia plans to start a tourism development fund with an initial capital investment of US$4 billion. The Tourism Development Fund will launch equity and debt investment vehicles to develop the tourism sector in collaboration with private and investment banks, the ministry of tourism said in a statement.
Hoteliers unhappy with Thailand’s shift towards high-end
Thai hotel industry professionals are concerned that the Thai government’s plan to shift its focus away from mass tourism and backpackers to high-spending travelers could mean that small businesses will be overlooked. Officials last week announced a new luxury push to help make up for the current lack of inbound tourism, following media reports that Thailand’s travel proposal will not be ready for implementation by July and international flights may not resume before September. Last week, the Thai government approved a 22.4 billion baht (US$718 million) domestic tourism stimulus that promises to benefit hotels, F&B businesses, travel agencies and domestic airlines.
African development sabotaged by COVID-19
Africa hotel development has been devastated by the outbreak of COVID-19 that affected key tourist markets in Europe, the United States, Southeast Asia and some African tourism business sources. According to the latest data, 90 hotels totaling 17,000 rooms are scheduled to open in 2020, but one estimate showed that at least half of these will be delayed, bringing the actualization rate down to no more than 40%.
