Saudi Arabia Opens Up to Airbnb-Like Rentals
Photo Credit: Saudi Arabia has more hotel rooms in the pipeline than United Arab Emirates. Seera Group
Skift Take
By allowing locals for the first time to rent out properties to tourists, Saudi Arabia is not just trying to keep pace with growing demand, but is also trying to make the destination more accessible. Over to the locals.
Citizens of Saudi Arabia will now be able to rent out their homes to tourists, according to a bylaw approved by the tourism ministry.
The country that is witnessing a renaissance in tourism, targets to attract over 100 million tourists annually by 2030.
The new rule is being seen as an effort to keep pace with this development by making the destination more accessible to international visitors.
“There is a progression towards the modern world and that will only benefit tourism and hospitality,” said Vinayak Mahtani, co-founder and CEO of bnbme, a vacation rental company in the United Arab Emirates.
As the country has increased its tourism promotional activities and budget by almost twelve-fold, this has also pushed demand to new heights. Saudi Arabia plans to invest $1 trillion in the tourism sector over the next 10 years.
As a result, the country has more hotel rooms in the pipeline than United Arab Emirates. There are 40,742 hotel rooms under construction in Saudi Arabia as of December 2022, compared to 27,456 rooms in UAE, according to hospitality data firm STR.
Support Growing DemandSaudi Arabia also registered the maximum number of international arrivals in the region during the first nine months of 2022, according to the United Na
