MICE Tourism in Saudi Arabia: Growing Segment

Saudi Arabia is an oil-based economy. The MICE segment was considered a side income until 2011 when the Bureau was formed and they started to look at statistics to do with the direct and indirect impact of this industry. In 2010, the International Bank carried out a study in Riyadh, which declared that the indirect income resulting from the construction of the RICEC was 370 million Riyals. That was in 2010 when we had a very limited number of events. We used the same methodology in 2012 and found that the figure had risen to 500 million Riyals. This figure represents the indirect income from the industries related to this sector such as hospitality, transport and logistics.

One of the pioneering companies in the business tourism segment is Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Centre (RICEC). Business tourism is booming with the total revenue generated by conference and exhibition visitors to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2012, reaching USD 2.3 billion and 3.2 million exhibition and conferences visitors.

The World Bank report found business tourism accounted for 47 percent of all visits to the Riyadh region in 2010, with business tourist expenditure amounting to 60 percent of all visitor expenditure. Around 10 percent of those business tourists were attending events at RICEC, with total meetings taking place at the facility in 2010, generating US$97.9 million (SAR367.24 million) direct spending in the Riyadh region economy. According to the Meet Arabia Magazine, “Every US$267,000 spent on meetings at RICEC resulted in direct added value of US$162,619, including delegate spending on tourism services, as well as another US$178,881 (SAR671.000) in related activities across other parts of the economy.”
“The direct effects of the meeting industry at RICEC contributed US$42.1 million (SAR158.1 million) to the Riyadh region’s GDP in 2010,” the report says. “Meanwhile, the indirect and induced effects on GDP are an estimated US$46.36 million (SAR173.9 million).”