Airbnb sees ‘potential' in Saudi Arabia: report

Airbnb sees "much potential" in Saudi Arabia as the Kingdom implements its Vision 2030 plan, of which travel and hospitality are an important part, Bloomberg Business Week reported, citing Hadi Moussa, general manager MEA, Airbnb.

The US-based home-sharing website is experiencing growth of about 80 percent year-on-year in the Middle East and Africa and is planning to increase its marketing efforts in the region in the run-up to the Expo 2020 in Dubai.

"The Middle East is one of the fastest growing regions within emerging markets and is also the biggest in the category in terms of outbound travel for Airbnb," Moussa said.

“If you look at growth rates in terms of tourist arrivals, emerging markets are growing twice as fast as mature markets. By 2030 more than 50 percent of tourist arrivals will be in emerging markets,” he added.