Diriyah mega project set to open up for tourism in 2020: official

The masterplan for Diriyah, one of Saudi Arabia’s giga projects, is in the planning stage but plans are ready to open up the original home of the Saudi Royal family and a UNESCO heritage site as an international tourism destination in 2020, a senior official with Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA) told Argaam.

“We are actually now in the planning phases but that does not mean that Diriyah will not host any of the major events. Last year we had the Formula E event. This year we will have the Formula E as well as Diriyah Seasons, which is part of Saudi Seasons initiative,” Thamer Mohamed Al-Sudairi, channel marketing management, said in an interview during the Arabian Travel Market.

“We will start to open the place as a destination to come and experience. One of the initiatives we are working on is to ‘Discover Diriyah’. This is one of the steps that we are going through but now there is no timeline for phases.”

The total number of domestic and international visitors for 2019 Formula E race is expected to be around 100,000, the official said.

Al-Sudairi expected the details of the hotel numbers as well as segmentation to be available in 2020.

“We are not saying that we will implement the phases in 2020 but this where we get the clarity. One of the steps we are going to do is have Diriyah promoted as tourist destination by opening this site,” he added.

Located on the outskirts of Riyadh, Diriyah will be the site of a 23 million square foot giga-project encompassing new museums, restaurants, entertainment venues and high-end retail.

Write to Parag Deulgaonkar at parag.d@argaamplus.com