RIYADH: A limited number of tourists will be allowed to visit the new luxury Red Sea holiday destination to ensure preservation of the resort’s “natural treasures,” according to a top official of the company leading the development.
Arab News interviewed Najwah Hamzeh – senior smart destinations director at Red Sea Development Co – in an exclusive interview. Sustainability is costly, but a lack thereof is even more costly.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Real Estate Future Forum held last week in Riyadh, the TRSDC official told Arab News: “Our offering from the beginning is luxury and ultra-luxury. It is not going be a cheap destination.
“We are limiting the number of tourists to the destination to keep it sustainable and to enhance the environment.”
Hamzeh stated that the company has already begun research and studies to sequester natural carbon, by creating marine algae production plants and enhancing biologically varied habitats.
According to the official, the company is currently in talks with the Saudi Transport Ministry to regulate and import electric vehicles at the luxury project site.
Arab News was told by She that the TRSDC’s initial resort would be open in 2023.
“The Red Sea and AMAALA project will really set new standards. We are evolving naturally to become a model or an example for regenerative tourism destinations in the world,” said Hamzeh.
Rejecting the notion of competition between giga-project developers working in the Kingdom, she said: “We actually work together. We learn from one another. We meet at the least once a month for all giga-projects.
“There may be some elements of competition. I don’t feel it from our side, but maybe in the development. That is the whole idea. How do you build that fast.”
Hamzeh stated that TRSDC will use augmented reality and virtual reality technologies in combination with metaverse experience to enable people to visit the projects without physically being present.
TRSDC is developing a region of more than 28,000 kilometers along the west coast Saudi Arabia. It recently closed a SR14Billion ($3.7B) term loan facility and revolving debt facility with four Saudi bank.
The AMAALA project and the Red Sea will set new standards. We are evolving naturally to become a model or an example for regenerative tourism destinations in the world – Najwah Hamzeh
The final quarter of 2023 will see the completion of the project’s first phase, which includes the building of 16 hotels with 3,000 rooms across five islands and two inland sites.
This milestone will also see development of air, land and sea transport hubs.
The company announced in October 2021 that it had signed a deal to manage nine hotels. Five of them will open in 2022.
Saudi Arabia is home to more than 50 artificial and natural wetlands.
Although the number could have changed from almost a decade earlier, wetlands remain a relatively unexplored topic when compared with other environmental issues.
TRSDC, which is creating a regenerative tourism destination along Saudi Arabia’s west coast, is keen to highlight the importance of coastal wetlands.
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