1、TOURISMDIVERSIFICATIONIN SAUDI ARABIAAND QATARFEBRUARY 2026CONTENTSIntroduction 3Context 3Aim and Scope 4Current State Assessment:Tourism in KSA&Qatar5Tourism Strategies6Governance9Growth Metrics11Role of Tourism Segments in Diversification 15Cultural Tourism16Sports Tourism22Business and MICE Touri
2、sm27Looking Ahead:The promise of a regional tourism offering31References33About this report36Strategic Gears|Strategy Hub|Tourism Diversification in KSA and Qatar3Introduction Context Across the globe,tourism is one of the fastest developing sectors,contributing nearly 10%of GDP and accounting for o
3、ver 350 million jobs.1 Beyond its scale,it is the lynchpin of service trade and increasingly recognized as a lever for economic diversification,cultural diplomacy,and sustainable development.Nowhere is this applied more evidently than in the GCC,where governments are lifting throttles at diversifica
4、tion.For Saudi Arabia and Qatar,the sector is at the center of national development agendas and anchored as a pathway for economic diversification.For the Kingdom,tourism is designed to create private sector jobs,widen access to wellbeing activities,and brand cultural heritage globally.For Qatar,its
5、 hosting of the FIFA World Cup 2022,the first Arab country to do so,has set the bar for its emergence as an international hub for global events across tourism segments.In both countries,tourism is no longer a niche sector.It has permeated the branding,service offerings,and end-to-end experience of p
6、roximal sectors,from culture,hospitality,accommodation,to business and sports.The growth path,while still behind potential,has already revealed a sustainable development utility for Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the form of strategic gains in job creation,societal wellbeing,resource sustainability,cultu