- Saudi venue capacity up 32 percent in 2025, reflecting robust growth of sector
RIYADH: Some 20 agreements and memorandums of understanding were signed on the first day of the annual International MICE Summit in Riyadh, where industry leaders are collaborating to support the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
Hosted by the Saudi Conventions and Exhibitions General Authority, the event brought together companies with a combined global revenue of more than $9 billion involved in the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions sector.
Alongside a host of commercial agreements, MoUs were signed by the Ministry of Interior, the Hail Region Development Authority, and the Saudi Water Authority, as well as Elm Co., the Authority for the Care of People with Disabilities, and the National Center for Social Studies and Research.
Speaking to Arab News at MICE, SCEGA CEO Hatim Al-Kahily said this second edition of the event shows that Saudi Arabia has the power to convene sector leaders globally in Riyadh.
“This is also due to the continuous infrastructure investments that Saudi Arabia sees … it also has global cities that attract investments and global leaders — all of this builds a very rich and dynamic business events sector,” he added.
SCEGA’s success was further highlighted by the unveiling of the 2025 Saudi Venue Infrastructure Report, revealing a 32 percent year-on-year increase in venue capacity across 923 accredited venues nationwide.
SCEGA board chairman Fahd Al-Rasheed told Arab News that the impact of Vision 2030 was a driving force behind the successful initiatives.
“The biggest driver of the momentum in Saudi Arabia is Vision 2030 with more than 1,500 initiatives and projects in the Kingdom,” he said, adding: “The focus of Vision 2030 on unleashing the potential of the Kingdom and the sector has led to more than 17,000 companies being established in the sector from just 3,800 in 2018. That’s a 330 percent increase.”
Al-Rasheed underscored the elements behind the sector’s impressive growth, pointing to the training of over 90,000 Saudis and the streamlining of regulations and licensing as reasons for the Kingdom’s MICE sector becoming “the fastest growing market in the G20, growing at 10 percent post-COVID per year.”
Emphasizing Al-Kahily’s perspective, Al-Rasheed reiterated the Kingdom’s global advantage is due to the force that is Vision 2030.
“The ambition of Vision 2030, the ambition of the leadership and the fact that a lot of the national entities in the government have their own initiatives and have launched their own global events that have attracted so much of the global intellectual capital. We’re talking about events like TOURISE, FII and many others,” he said.
Among the more than 3,000 global leaders attending the opening day was Ghada Al-Rashid, co-founder and managing director of events company GEXPO.
Speaking to Arab News, she highlighted the importance of merging local and international expertise in pursuit of success.
“We still look to collaborate with international companies to get the know-how and learn more, but there is always the authenticity of the local know-how; so merging these two things together delivers a successful product,” said Al-Rashid.
On upcoming initiatives in the Kingdom’s future, such as Expo 2030, she spotlighted the importance of Saudi’s authenticity as a unique element driving its future prosperity.
“Saudi is a young market, I believe there are so many opportunities in every industry as long the content is infused with the authenticity of Saudi and it reaches the segment audience,” said the executive.
Source: www.arabnews.com