Minister: Saudi Arabia is undecided about investing in Egypt's Red Sea Coast

The Saudi tourism minister stated on Sunday that the country already has enough rooms for the World Cup in 2034. However, it is focusing on increasing the number of hotel rooms within the country and has yet to decide whether or not to invest along Egypt's Red Sea Coast.

Cairo is preparing plans to invest in the development of Ras Gamila, a stretch largely unused near the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh. This follows a massive investment made by the United Arab Emirates for the development of a stretch along Egypt's Mediterranean coastline.

When asked about potential Saudi investment, Ahmed Al-Khateeb, the Minister of Tourism in Riyadh, said that the Kingdom was prioritising new destinations within the country, including the Red Sea Global Development, which includes plans for 17 new hotels to be opened by May next year.

Al-Khateeb stated that FIFA, the world's soccer governing body, told Saudi Arabia it had enough hotel rooms for fans who were expected to travel to the country to attend World Cup 2034.

He added, "They checked today the number of bedrooms, and they found that we qualified, but we're adding more rooms and a better experience. For example, we're adding luxury destinations."

He said that Saudi Arabia had not taken any steps to lift the ban on alcohol sales and that tourists wanted to come to the kingdom for other reasons.

As part of an ambitious program to diversify the economy and reduce its dependence on oil, the once-extremely conservative kingdom has relaxed some restrictions in order to attract tourists and international business. Reporting by Federico Maccioni, Writing by Andrew Mills, Menna al-Din and Helen Popper; Editing by Aidan Lewis & Helen Popper

(source: Reuters)