Skift Take
Saudi may not hit all its targets, but for CEO Sebastien Bazin, that misses the point: "Even if it’s only half achieved, that’s a remarkable half,” he says.
Saudi Arabia's tourism and economic goals for its Vision 2030 plan are ambitious and there have been reports of delays and scaling back.
But concern about that may miss the point, according to Accor's chairman and CEO, Sebastien Bazin, who was among hundreds of industry leaders in Riyadh this week for the Future Investment Initiative (FII).
“People could question the pace and the size [of the Vision], and we should all question [them],” Bazin told Skift. “But we should also be humble and understand this is a decision of the [Saudi] leadership, and we need more leaders like him [Mohammed bin Salman].”
“Did I believe we could spend $500 billion on tourism in Saudi? That’s not for me to believe. That’s his [MBS’s] plan and vision. Even if it’s only half achieved, that’s a remarkable half.”
Tourism is central to Saudi