Mark Faithfull of The Robin Report tells his readers move over Dubai, Saudi Arabia is taking center world stage. He writes:
Saudi Arabia stands out as a youthful market overall, with last year’s census revealing that of the 32.2 million inhabitants, 63 percent of Saudis (42 percent of the total population) are under the age of 30 years old. That’s about 8.5 million people, while the median age of the entire population is just 29. That tees up Saudi Arabia as an attractive proposition for development.
Saudi Arabia’s approach has not been without its critics, to say the least, dividing high-profile sports bodies and garnering widespread accusations of sports washing for a regime that when it comes to women’s rights and human rights in general has had, let’s say, its PR challenges.
Behind the headlines, an extraordinary real estate-led development boom has been going on within the country, driven by what the Saudis call ‘giga-projects.’ And for once the scale of these initiatives lives up to the self-dubbed hype because they are enormous in scope, ambition, and size and are threatening to shift the tourism and retail axis away from Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Simply stated, Saudi Arabia is taking center world stage. […]
What does it all mean? Well, it’s going to take some time for Saudi Arabia to knock Dubai off its perch as an international destination for tourists and shoppers, and it’s going to have to convince visitors that a cheetah can change its spots. But the huge amount of money being ploughed into these projects, and the fact that many are already off the ground, makes it feel as if the axis might be pivoting as Saudi Arabia is taking the center world stage.
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