What Radisson’s Saudi Arabia Bet Reveals About the Gulf’s Divided Recovery

Skift Take Radisson’s own development numbers are the latest confirmation of a pattern playing out across the Gulf: domestic demand is the hedge, and Saudi Arabia has it, the UAE doesn’t. Radisson Hotel Group operates 35 hotels in Saudi Arabia today, with 15 more under construction, and is targeting 100 hotels in operation and under development in the kingdom by 2030 — a bet the company says hasn’t wavered despite the U.S.-Iran war’s disruption to Gulf tourism. “Our targets for the region have not changed, although there may be a slight slowdown in signing volumes and business expansion this year because of the war. But if you’re in it for the long run, there’s no change,” said Elie Younes, executive vice president and global chief development officer at Radisson Hotel Group. “We still believe in Saudi Arabia, Vision 2030, Dubai, and the region.” The reason Radisson can afford that confidence, while pulling back elsewhere in the Gulf, comes down to where demand comes from. “On the trading side, markets like Saudi Arabia were less impacted than others