Saudi Arabia’s secret plans to be the World’s top luxury destination aren’t really a secret, at least for those avid travelers who have been to or keep up with the region. But that’s not many people, especially people from the U.S., because there, Saudi Arabia still has relatively negative sterotypes.

[[NOTE: As of right now I do not recommend attempting to go to the Middle East due to the inappropriate war happening there, but save this post for the future, and go see Saudi before it becomes touristy!] If you are currently stuck in the Middle East and looking for information to evacuate, see this post!]]

Whenever I tell people I’ve traveled through or am going to Saudi Arabia, I often get the same reaction:

“Why would you even go there?”

For many people outside the region, especially in the U.S., Saudi Arabia is associated almost entirely with oil, strict laws, and headlines about geopolitics or how terribly they treat the women.

Tourism is usually the last thing people imagine. Especially a top luxury destination. And that’s fair considering that Saudi Arabia just started focusing on tourism in the last few years, specifically to steer away from those stereotypes and dependency on just the oil industry.

Still though, it’s hard to change peoples’ minds. So I’m here to tell you about my findings, both good and bad.

But regardless of what I think about it, Saudi Arabia is quietly building one of the largest super luxury tourism industries on Earth. And that’s a fact.

From “megaprojects” like full on futuristic cities and man-made Maldives-esque islands, to uber luxurious resorts that start at two-thousand dollars per night, I’ve seen and experienced a lot of it, and it’s definitely happening.

But it’s also happening at several types of high prices. From billions of dollars, to the destruction of earth, and people.

Here’s the scoop:

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Why Saudi Arabia Is Now Spending Billions on Tourism

The transformation is part of a national strategy called Saudi Vision 2030, created by the new (millennial) Crown Prince, Mohammad bin Salam or “MBS”.

He is also who is responsible for ending archaic rules for women. In fact, it’s only been a few years since he made it legal for women to drive, be in public without a male escort, wear what they’d like (head covering optional), and even work. All things that when they were formally banned, could definitely have deterred tourists. Especially women who would have had to also abide by those rules.

Oh and tourism wasn’t even permitted for many people until recently — namely, Americans. He changed that, and has also tapped into the influencer-marketing goldmine (or should I say, “oil reserve”) to make sure everyone who needs to know about all of this, does. (He must have missed my profile or something though, since I definitely was not sponsored for any of this!)

So why focus on tourism now? For decades, Saudi Arabia’s economy depended heavily on oil. But leaders know that oil won’t last forever, and that the world will eventually shift to green energy, so now they want tourism, technology, and international investment to play a major role in the country’s future.

And the scale of investment is as enormous as the vast Arabian desert.

There’s the mega luxury tourism goals like The Red Sea Project, and across the country, Saudi Arabia plans to build hundreds of thousands of new hotels as tourism expands. Plus, there’s the “Megaprojects” that have billionaire investors piqued all over the world, though no one has seen much proof of them besides renderings.

Even the Tangerine Tyrant’s real estate company has millions invested in several new properties being built there as we speak. I saw them with my own eyes. So, the Middle East can’t be that bad if he’s investing so much there, right?

In other words, the kingdom isn’t just opening to tourism, it’s creating an entirely new tourism economy from scratch.

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Saudi Arabia’s “Next Maldives” Goal: The Red Sea Project

One of the biggest bets for Saudi Arabia’s new luxury travel industry, is along the Red Sea coast. For those not familiar with the Red Sea, it has some of the best coral reefs for scuba and snorkeling, and sits in between Saudi, Egypt, and Jordan.

Here, Saudi Arabia is building a huge luxury tourism zone known as The Red Sea Project, which already includes many super luxury resorts, including the currently viral Shebara, where I stayed recently and can confirm; it looks and feels like you’re on another planet.

The idea is to compete with high-end island destinations like the Maldives, even though, the Maldives are natural coral atoll formations, and these would mostly be man-made.

Private islands, coral reefs, yacht marinas, and mega luxury resorts are all part of the plan.

Some properties there already cost over $2,000 per night, and require mandatory transfers via boat or seaplane that cost a minimum of around $500 for the former.

There’s also real estate in this area, with villas on private Red Sea islands have reportedly sold for around £3.5 million ($4–5 million) each to early investors.

In other words, this is not going to be a budget travel destination. Not even an “affordable luxury” one. They have a clientele in mind (rich-rich) and they intend to keep it that way. Don’t worry though, there are affordable Red Sea areas that I’ll mention at the end.

Anyway, Saudi Arabia is aiming directly at the global luxury travel market, and they have the money to make it happen.

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The Luxury Resorts Hidden in the Saudi Desert

Saudi Arabia is 95% desert, and I have been fortunate and unfortunate to see a lot of it. The latter is because I had to drive eight hours through the north of it to self-evacuate after getting trapped in the war zone in Kuwait in March of 2026.

But I’m also very fortunate to have seen and stayed at many of the luxurious desert properties. In fact, some of the most fascinating projects aren’t even on the coast, they’re in the desert!

One example is the Desert Rock Resort, one of the first high-end desert resorts built in the new tourism zone, and actually part of the Red Sea Project. It’s literally in the middle of nowhere in the desert, there’s nothing else near it, except the new Red Sea International Airport that’s around 45 minutes away.

Staying there isn’t cheap either. Rooms typically start around $1700–$2,000+ per night, with private villas costing significantly more.

Instead of constructing typical bungalows, architects literally carved villas and suites into massive sandstone formations. And social media is going wild over it.

There are eBikes to get around, plenty of hiking trails, even a rope bridge, and a very spoiled resident camel. Plus, several pools, and a Michelin Star reataurant.

They basically turned the most non-ideal for living remote location, into a coveted private luxury destination. Bravo marketing team, bravo.

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Ancient Landscapes Meet Luxury Stays

Saudi Arabia’s tourism push isn’t only about turning random parts of the desert into sought after sojourns. Some of its most impressive and famous destinations have existed for thousands of years.

The desert valley of AlUla contains Hegra, where you can see dramatic rock formations and ancient tombs carved directly into sandstone cliffs. Hegra remained only a bucketlist destination dream to avid travelers for many years before tourism opened up, including for me. I had learned about it when I went to Petra in Jordan, and heard it was built by the same Bedouin tribe. But back then U.S. citizens couldn’t just enter Saudi, and they definitely couldn’t go to Hegra. So when it opened up, I actually went there to see the rock tombs, not the resorts.

Now, AlUla is arguably Saudi Arabia’s most notorious tourism destination thanks to clever architects, pro marketers, and influencers (like moi) posting stunning photos and videos not only of Hegra’s mind-blowing beauty, but of the chic and trendy desert resorts nearby.

There’s the, dare I day, overly-trendy Habitas AlUla, where I’ve stayed both at the desert cabanas and caravans. I’ll admit, the property is stunning, especially for content creators, but that being said, you will see a lot of them taking photos there at all times, or at least people acting like they are.

Next door is the more secluded and private Banyan Tree Resort, where my group trip guests actually liked more than Habitas! And I have an incredible money saving tip to stay there. Book your bungalow through their sister-property that shares the same main grounds, and still gives you access to the entire resort, for a fraction of the price.

Those are two of the most expensive places to stay in AlUla though. In my opinion, they’re worth at least one night each, however if you’re on a budget, there’s a lot of other options, but don’t expect to find much under $100 per night.

See my extensive AlUla Travel Trips and Guide for more info!

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Tourism in Existing Saudi Arabia Cities and the Desire to be the “Next Dubai”

So far, I’ve been to Riyadh, AlUla, Jeddah, and the Red Sea Project area. Well, and the barren northern desert when I was evacuating but that’s irrelevant to my next point.

It was significantly more difficult, and uncomfortable as a solo female foreign traveler to be in the major cities like Riyadh and Jeddah, than it was in the other two remote areas. However, the main cities were where I felt I got the real cultural experience, both historical and moder.

I fear that Saudi Arabia’s tourism goals will mostly only attract the type of luxury traveler that wants to lounge at a resort pool or eat at fine dining, rather than learn about their rich culture and heritage. It’s almost like they are building these secluded tourism wonderlands to cage the luxury tourists in and keep their culture unaffected in the cities.

But then I hear that there are plans for new areas to be built in or near Riyadh and Jeddah, with the goal of being “the Next Dubai”. That was kind of cool at first, but if you’ve been to Dubai, you know how fake most things are there, so I guess that will appeal to some, but not others.

If you are interested in experiencing a mix of Saudi Arabia’s actual culture and luxury stays, send me an email to get my custom created itinerary that I used for my group trip there recently: info@mylifesamovie.com.

Saudi Arabia’s Megaprojects and Mega-Problems

Now let’s talk about these “megaprojects” that have captured worldwide attention from millionaires, billionaires, and…conspiracy theorists like me.

For example, the futuristic desert “megaproject” development NEOM alone carries an estimated price tag of about $500 billion. NEOM will allegedly be a futuristic luxury city and has already started being built, however there are mixed reports about its success so far.

Part of NEOM is “The Line”, which I was admittedly very intrigued by as well, even though it sounds absolutely bizarre and impossible. It was supposed to be a massive, long, and narrow mirrored building complex, capable of housing 9 million people and solely operating on green energy. It was supposed to have things like advanced transportation (no cars, and some renders had flying transportation), and everything a regular city would have in it, but like, in the Jetsons.

Aside from the big price tag of the project, also came big consequences for other people too. Although it may seem like this was being built in a desolate part of the desert, it is said that the Saudi government granted “lethal force” to remove villagers from a local tribe in the area, and thousands were displaced, one shot dead for protesting it.

Apparently, they got some bad karma for that, because the project is now on hold and there are reports that they’re going to turn it into an AI data house, which would actually be extremely bad, if not worse, for that environment.

Will Saudi Arabia Relax Some More Rules for Tourism in the Future?

Just because they let women start to drive, and swimsuits are allowed at most hotels, doesn’t mean Saudi Arabia is a full-on tourism free for all.

One question many travelers ask is whether Saudi Arabia will eventually loosen some of its social restrictions to attract tourists.

Namely, allowing alcohol to be served. That’s right, just in case you didn’t know, Saudi Arabia is a dry country. After thorough research before my trip there, I concluded that nothing definitive has been announced, but the fact that the conversation exists shows how quickly the tourism strategy is evolving.

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So… To Go or Not To Go?

For travelers willing to look beyond stereotypes, Saudi Arabia offers something increasingly rare: places that still feel undiscovered and aren’t overly touristy or popular, yet.

Remote deserts.
Ancient archaeological sites.
Futuristic cities rising from empty landscapes.

And perhaps most interesting of all, the chance to watch a country try to reinvent itself in real time. We know they have the money to do it, but can they all evolve to the modern demands of today’s tourism world?

For decades, Saudi Arabia was one of the least accessible places on Earth.

Now it’s trying to become one of the most popular and ambitious tourism destinations in the world.

Which means the next time someone asks: “Why would you even go there?”

Your new answer might be: Because it’s about to become one of the most interesting places to visit, and possibly the World’s top luxury destination.

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xx, Alyssa