Targets in the screen are closer than they appear"

Saudi Arabia's Aviation and Tourism Targets for 2030

A quick snapshot of where the Kingdom stands today vis-à-vis where it wants to be by 2030 in this edition of “Aviation in Saudi: Past, Present, and Future."

‣Network: Huge strides were made in the last two years by ACP, partner airlines and major airports to rake up this metric from <100 destinations

‣Pax traffic: 2023 marked the highest passenger traffic in the history of Saudi Arabia (official numbers yet to be released) but is believed to be in the ballpark of 110 million - 3X growth to be achieved by 2030.

‣Cargo traffic: Witnessed strong volumes in 2023 compared to the muted growth over the last few years - ambitious target to more than quadruple the traffic.

‣Tourists: Stellar performance in this space with the Kingdom achieving its original 2030 target of 100 million tourists seven years ahead of schedule (with variations in composition). HRH The Crown Prince has instructed the Ministry of Tourism to level up the target to 150 million.

Saudi Arabia's aviation strategy would be the key to achieving these targets. And how?

1. Network & Hubs: By expanding KSA connectivity to 250+ destinations worldwide, and by elevating RUH and JED as global hubs for PAX and Cargo

2. Airlines: By launching Riyadh Air, issuing a license for a new LCC in DMM, increasing the share of homegrown LCCs and improving the competitiveness of local carriers (SV, XY, F3)

3. Airports: By elevating the experience, upgrading passenger & cargo infra and streamlining operations

4. Services: By enabling fair competition, competitive pricing and an enabling regulatory framework

5. Funding: Up to the tune of USD 100 billion (public + private) to enable developments

Whether the targets are achievable or not doesn't fall under the remit of this analysis. Please feel free to share your views.

For those interested to know more, you can download an abridged version of KSA's aviation strategy from GACA's website.

(This write-up is for educational/ informational purposes only and figures are directional at best)

(Views my own; happy to amend inaccuracies, if any)

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