Red Sea Global to open Thuwal island resort in weeks

• Island is second new Red Sea site
• More Amaala hotels due next year
• Other giga-projects slowing

Saudi giga-project Red Sea Global will open hotels at a second site within weeks and more at a third location will open next year, the luxury resort developer said this week. 

The company, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), will open a private island called Thuwal just north of Jeddah, followed by eight resorts at its Amaala location further up the coast. 

---

Newsletter
Get the Best of AGBI delivered straight to your inbox every week

---

Valued by real estate consultant Knight Frank at $23.6 billion, Red Sea Global opened its first hotels last year at its The Red Sea resort on Saudi Arabia’s eponymous coast. 

The resorts are served by the purpose-built Red Sea International Airport which has been operating twice-weekly flights to Dubai since April. 

Saudi Arabia is on a drive to make tourism account for 10 percent of GDP by 2030. 

• Saudi Red Sea resorts aim for 19m tourists by 2030
• Eight sites to open at Amaala Red Sea resort in 2025
• Red Sea Global reveals own luxury resort brand

Almost half of tourism is religious, while the PIF-owned giga-projects, which include Neom, Diriyah and AlUla, are focused on affluent wellness, adventure and cultural tourism. 

Some of the giga-projects are facing delays as the government runs into funding problems due to oil prices being below a budget breakeven figure estimated this year at $96 per barrel, and lower than expected foreign investment.