Saudi Arabia has become the focus of airport development in the Middle East as it seeks to drive income from tourism from 3.8 percent in 2019 to 10 percent of GDP by 2030. Funded by a deep-pocketed sovereign wealth fund, the plan aligns with the kingdom's Saudi Aviation Strategy 2030, launched in 2022 and backed by $100 billion in investments from the government and private sectors, according to a recent paper published by Goldman Sachs.
Aiming to triple the aviation sector’s contribution to the economy to $74.6 billion by 2030, Saudi Arabia has set key targets to extend connectivity to 250-plus destinations across 29 airports; triple annual passenger traffic to 330 million versus around 100 million carried in 2019; increase air cargo volume to 4.5 million tons (from 0.8 million tons today); and add two global long-haul connecting hubs, the investment bank said. Jeddah and Riyadh stand in pole position to serve as such axes.
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