AccorHotels chief expects Saudi tourism to grow in next 3 years

Global CEO of AccorHotels, Sebastian Bazin, expects tourism to grow in Saudi Arabia over the next three years.

“[Tourism in Saudi Arabia] is a very difficult subject. It will happen. The Saudi people are extremely welcoming. [There’s] no question about it. It will take a shorter time than people expect – probably three years, not ten years,” Bazin told Arabian Business.

“I am astonished by the size of investment. I will never bet against the Middle East. They have proven to us in the last 40 years that when they want something accomplished, it gets done. So NEOM will exist. I don’t know whether it will be five or ten years from now,” he added.

Bazin also said AccorHotels “need to be a part of” tourism growth in Saudi Arabia, as the country is ideally located four and a half hours away from Europe and boasts “a similar sea environment” to the Maldives and Seychelles.