The Red Sea Project — Saudi Arabia’s flagship luxury tourism development on the pristine Red Sea coastline — has opened five resort properties in 2026, marking the transition of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s most ambitious tourism initiative from construction phase to commercial operation and bringing some of the world’s most extraordinary diving, marine life and untouched coastal landscapes within reach of international luxury travellers.
The Red Sea Project encompasses a 28,000 square kilometre destination spanning 90 islands, 50 UNESCO-listed heritage sites, six UNESCO-listed natural sites and one of the world’s least-disturbed coral reef ecosystems. The development — managed by the Red Sea Global authority and backed by Saudi Arabia’s PIF — targets 50 hotels with 8,000 rooms across multiple resort islands by 2030, alongside an international airport, marina infrastructure and sustainability systems designed to make the destination fully powered by renewable energy.
Shura Island: The First Luxury Destination
Shura Island is the central hub of the initial Red Sea Project phase, hosting multiple international hotel brands including Six Senses, Nujuma Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Coral Bloom and several boutique eco-resort properties. The island’s combination of luxury overwater villas, world-class diving access and genuine remoteness is attracting exactly the high-net-worth traveller demographic that Saudi Arabia needs to build a sustainable, high-revenue tourism model.
Room rates across Shura Island’s open properties range from SAR 3,000 to SAR 25,000 per night, positioning the destination alongside the Maldives, French Polynesia and Bali’s most exclusive properties in terms of per-night revenue per room — exactly the premium positioning that Saudi Arabia’s tourism strategy requires to generate meaningful GDP contribution from a relatively small visitor base.
150 Million Tourists by 2030: On Track?
Saudi Arabia welcomed 100 million visitors in 2023 and has maintained strong growth momentum since, with the combination of religious tourism (Makkah and Madinah), heritage tourism (AlUla, Diriyah), adventure tourism (NEOM, Asir) and luxury coastal tourism (Red Sea Project, AMAALA) creating a genuinely diverse national tourism offering that no Gulf competitor can fully replicate. The 150 million target by 2030 is ambitious but supported by the scale and pace of Saudi infrastructure investment across the sector.
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Primary source: Visit Saudi, the Kingdom’s official tourism platform.
