KAEC’s place as a modern Saudi city and an incredible tourist destination took an exciting new twist in 2019 by offering unique experiences throughout the year, with seasonal lifestyle events, activations and attractions.
The Seasonal Lifestyle is built around a series of entirely new activities, events and attractions that reflect some of the most dynamic parts of the Saudi lifestyle.
With outdoors being so integral to Saudi Arabian culture, a program of summer and winter activities was developed and actioned, including everything from beach volleyball to golf, karting at Juman Park, floating restaurants, beach cinema, paintballing and diving in the stunning crystal-clear waters of the Red Sea.
Turquoise World
Our 2019 summer season was built around the water lifestyle, with activities that included sea horse-riding, jet skiing, water skiing, the Aqua Fun Floating Water Park, donut boat rides, a kiddies’ splash pad, and swan paddle boats. We also added new elements to YAM beach’s activities including four grand water swings, kayaking and water bikes – all designed to give people a world-class and action-packed way to cool off in the heat of summer.
World of Moments
Our recent winter season, ‘World of Moments’ was also launched in 2019, offering people an exciting season of outdoor activities and events designed to make the most of the great winter weather. Activities included quad biking, sea horse-riding, beach cinema, paintballing, and beach boulevard BBQs. Special activity zones were created to provide comfort and seclusion for families and friends.
World of Moments is designed to create incredible experiences that will be remembered for a lifetime – including the new ‘K-Max’ motion ride packed with innovative, state-of-the-art technology and immersive audio and visual effects that take children and brave parents on incredible journeys.
Many of these activities took place within Juman Park, which is the city’s expansive family friendly park filled with lush green surroundings. The park is home to a mini golf course, tennis and volleyball courts, playgrounds, a swimming pool, exercise and bicycle stations, the amphitheater, and easy access to the city’s beachfront dining options, Marina Promenade and Juman Karting.
Ducks, carnivals and Hello Kitty
As part of our mission to build the ultimate destination for tourists from around the world, 2019 saw the opening of weekly children’s shows such as Angry Birds and Hello Kitty, a family carnival every weekend and a floating restaurant called Al Mirante – the first floating restaurant on the Red Sea coast.
The stunning Yam Beach also opened in 2019. Located on the virgin shores of the Bay La Sun District in KAEC, Yam Beach features a natural pool surrounded by coral reefs – the perfect location for families and friends to soak up the sunshine and breath the fresh sea air. The beach is also the hub for kite surfing and contains motorized activities such as kayaking and paddle boats.
Hospitality for all
We launched two distinct hospitality projects in 2019, ensuring KAEC can cater for all tastes and income groups. The stunning Oceana Resort, which comprises 50 luxury villas, is a unique gated community on the shores of the Red Sea that offers lush greenery, superb accommodation, and a pier that stretches into the Red Sea.
We also opened the doors of the Sunrise Apartments complex, which provides tourists with an economical choice that doesn’t sacrifice comfort. Sunrise consists of 48 two-bedroom, serviced apartments that are perfectly placed near the beach.
Sunrise Apartments and Oceana Resort opened in tandem with the development of the first glamping (glamorous camping) experience on the Red Sea – the Lagoona Reserve. Scheduled to open in 2020, it offers unique accommodation in the middle of the reserve and guests will enjoy a range of outdoor activities as part of their Arabian glamping experience.
These accommodation options are in addition to the previously launched Views Hotels and Residences with its panoramic vistas of the Red Sea and the five-star Bay La Sun Hotel & Marina, which offers sea fishing, snorkeling and cruises. The KAEC hospitality sector is emerging as a key contributor to economic growth and jobcreation as well as making KAEC an even more exciting and dynamic place to be for those living and working there.
Localizing the tourist dollar
As we look ahead to expanding on the progress made in 2019, we expect to see the creation of more tourist attractions and exciting activities, as well as organic expansion of the local supply and value chains.
Creating opportunities for localization of the tourist industry is a major objective – and in keeping with the core goals of Saudi Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program. The quality of the tourist sector at KAEC is such that we expect to see growth not only in global, regional and local visitor numbers but in recurring revenue, job creation and spending from KAEC’s own growing population.
The National Transformation Program will also be furthered by a series of projects scheduled to begin over the coming period, including a SAR 171 billion Hotel & Hospitality Management College. This will help meet the demand for a skilled hospitality workforce as the tourist sector grows at KAEC and beyond, equipping the Kingdom with home-grown talent through qualifications in international hotel and hospitality management.
