Saudi Arabia Facility Management Market: Can Country Replicate Successful UAE Model?

With petrodollars in short supply, Saudi Arabia facility management looks set to lead the economic diversification of the country

Saudi Arabia, in its Vision 2030, and National Transformation Program 2020, has outlined the key role that religious tourism will play in the countries’ economy. Catering facilities, ground services, hotel management etc. involving major Saudi Arabia facility management market players such as Nesma, Musanadah and Rezayat have been especially singled out.

TechSci Research, going off its latest report “Saudi Arabia Facility Management Market, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2022” examines the biggest trends destined to shake up the Saudi Arabia facility management market.

Saudi Arabia Facility Management Market: Lagging Far Behind UAE

Saudi authorities reported that over 2.35 million people participated in this year’s hajj, the pilgrimage to the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca that forms one of the five pillars of Islam. Of those, around 1.75 million pilgrims arrived from abroad. These 2.35 million people form the very backbone of demand experienced by the Saudi Arabia facility management market.

UAE, a distinct tourism rival, by contrast admitted over 13 million people in 2014. Saudi Arabian government realizes that receiving even a fraction of those numbers of tourists would provide a massive boost to the Saudi economy, and by extension, Saudi Arabia facility management market.

UAE has heavily promoted itself as a destination for Chinese tourists especially, and it has been handsomely rewarded. As per UAE tourism officials, the number of hotel guests shot up by 30% compared to 2016, and the first 6 months of 2017 saw over 2.25 million guests stay in the emirate.

Saudi Arabia Facility Management: Modern Trends

The collapse of the oil based economies has hearkened a new era in Gulf politics. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 is the same, an exercise to re-establish and assert the sort of regional hegemony that the kingdom has traditionally exercised. There is a fear that a loss in petrodollars for Saudi Arabia will make more economically diverse countries such as UAE and Qatar pull up ahead.

This is where the combination of environmental sustainability and Saudi Arabia facility management market becomes so important to the country. Not only does it have to cut cost, it also has to become economically competitive and provide employment to millions as it slowly weans its population off petrodollar based welfare.

Environmentally sustainable practices, when combined with big data technologies and inculcation of IOT, can prove to be a fiscally smart decision which will positively impact the Saudi Arabia facility management market over the next few years. Saudi Arabia is said to have lost over $250 billion over the past 3 years due to low oil prices, and the trend needs to be arrested somehow.

TechSci Research report “UAE Facility Management Market, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2012 – 2022” has revealed just how UAE facility management market has proved to be a major boon for the country, and how it may be the plank required by the country to leapfrog into the new era of diversified economies. It stands to reason that Saudi Arabia facility management market can take cues from UAE to boost its own business.