Saudi Arabia Leads Region With 110,000 Hotel Rooms

Saudi Arabia now leads the Middle East and North Africa in hotel development, with roughly 110,000 hotel rooms under construction across the Kingdom. Projects are concentrated in الرياض, Makkah, Madinah, الدرعية, نيوم, البحر الأحمر, and AMAALA.

That volume represents about half of the entire MENA hotel-development pipeline, which carries a reported value of around US$90 billion. Delivery of these projects is planned in phases rather than all at once, giving the market room to absorb the new supply as tourism demand grows under رؤية السعودية 2030.

What it means for investors and operators

The surge reflects steady momentum in the accommodation sector, supported by simplified official procedures. Notably, commercial-activity licence issuance fees for hotels, furnished apartments, and residential resorts were cancelled effective September 4, 2024, reducing entry costs for operators.

Accommodation-licence fees through the Ministry of Tourism vary by property size and licence term. For hotels, resorts, and heritage hotels, fees range from SAR 2,500 (1–100 rooms, one year) up to SAR 22,500 (500+ rooms, three years). Hotel-apartment licences range from SAR 1,500 to SAR 5,000 depending on the number of units and term.

The typical path to opening involves securing planning and building approvals through Balady, meeting Civil Defense and municipal requirements, completing the tourism-accommodation classification with the Ministry of Tourism, and then obtaining the operating licence. Building-permit applications are submitted electronically through Balady, where fees are calculated

Investors and developers are advised to confirm the exact current requirements, fees, and licence periods in the Ministry of Tourism service directory and the Balady fee calculator before submitting any application.

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