KSA This Week: Tourism investment surge, new worker-fitness rules, funds near $400bn
This week from the Kingdom: Saudi Arabia courts global tourism investors and lands a $1.33 billion Marriott hotel deal, introduces new occupational-fitness rules for workers, awards SR2.4 billion of Riyadh infrastructure, and sees its fund industry head toward $400 billion. Here is what matters for employers and businesses in Saudi Arabia.
Tourism
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$81bn Saudi tourism spending in 2025 |
Speaking at the Future Hospitality Summit in Riyadh on 23 June, Prince Turki Al-Faisal urged global investors and operators to commit to the Kingdom's tourism projects now, warning that the window of competitive advantage does not stay open forever. He pointed to the pipeline from AlUla and the Red Sea to Diriyah and NEOM, and said decisions made in the next three to five years will shape whether Saudi Arabia becomes a great hospitality destination.
Deputy Minister of Tourism Mahmoud Abdulhadi said Saudi Arabia welcomed over 120 million tourists in 2025, generating more than SR304 billion ($81 billion) in spending. First-quarter 2026 tourist numbers grew 8% year on year, with spend reaching SR82.7 billion despite regional tensions, driven largely by domestic demand.
He stressed the Kingdom is building a diversified portfolio across religious, leisure, entertainment, sports, culture and business tourism rather than relying on a single market.
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The TASC Take A tourism build-out of this scale needs hospitality, F&B, events and facilities staff at speed and at volume — exactly the seasonal and project-based workforce employers struggle to mobilise alone. |
Source: Arab News
Labour & Saudisation
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3 phases rollout of mandatory occupational-fitness checks |
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has issued a guide introducing occupational-fitness assessments and non-communicable disease (NCD) screenings for employees, phased in across the Kingdom. The rollout starts with public-sector and non-profit entities before extending to all professions and economic sectors.
The three phases move from pre-employment checks, to high-risk companies, to all establishments. New hires will not be allowed to start work until their results are issued and approved by a physician specialising in occupational medicine.
Employees who fail to meet the requirements may not continue practising their profession; the employer must move them to a different role, with scope for further tests to prove capability. The measure sits alongside the Professional Accreditation Program, where accreditation is now mandatory to issue or renew a work visa in covered professions.
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The TASC Take Workforce compliance just widened from contracts and Saudisation to health and competence screening. Employers need onboarding that verifies fitness and accreditation before staff start — or risk losing them mid-role. |
Source: Saudi Gazette
Investments
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11,000 jobs from the Marriott–Blacksand hotel deal (60% for Saudis) |
Real-estate developer Blacksand and Marriott International signed a SR5 billion ($1.33 billion) agreement at the Future Hospitality Summit in Riyadh to develop 10 hotels across the Kingdom, delivering 1,300 rooms over the next four years.
The deal is expected to create almost 11,000 jobs across construction and operation, including over 6,000 full-time roles — 60% of them earmarked for Saudi nationals. The first development, The Business Address, opens next year, with Town Center due in 2028.
Blacksand says the projects target gaps in the market, including the first private-sector St. Regis resort in Saudi Arabia and farm resorts under Marriott's Autograph Collection. The developer is already involved in a SR40 billion pipeline of projects nationwide.
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The TASC Take Eleven thousand roles, most full-time and 60% Saudi, is a major hiring and Saudisation challenge on a single deal — exactly where construction and hospitality employers lean on a workforce partner to staff at volume and stay compliant. |
Source: Arab News
Projects & Real Estate
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SR2.4bn Ladun's Riyadh infrastructure contracts ($639m) |
Ladun Investment Company signed two contracts worth SR2.4 billion ($639 million) with the Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC) to develop infrastructure under the first phase of the Real Estate Balance Programme, working with Al Ayuni Investment & Contracting.
The larger contract, SR2.1 billion, covers the Al Qirawan–Al Narjis lands — infrastructure for 3.6 million sq m in Al Qirawan and 87,000 sq m in Al Narjis. The SR327 million Namar project covers a 569,933 sq m site. Both run three years of construction plus two years of operation and maintenance.
The scope spans roads, water, sewage, electricity and telecoms networks, public spaces and utility connections — readying the land for housing handover to citizens and lifting Riyadh's residential supply.
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The TASC Take Large infrastructure-for-housing packages mean sustained demand for civil, MEP and O&M crews over five-year horizons — steady, plannable workforce needs that suit contract staffing. |
Source: Zawya
Energy & Mining
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+5.1% rise in Saudi industrial output in 2025 |
Saudi Arabia's Industrial Production Index rose 5.1% in 2025 year on year, reaching 110.4 points, driven by mining, manufacturing and utilities, the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) said. Mining and quarrying activity grew 5.8% and manufacturing 3.9%.
Within manufacturing, chemicals output rose 9.3%, refined petroleum products 3.7% and food products 2.9%. Utilities also grew — electricity and gas supply up 5.2% and water and waste management up 10%. Oil activities rose 5.4% and non-oil activities 4.3%.
The expansion tracks Vision 2030's diversification push and comes as the wider economy grew 3% year on year in the first quarter of 2026, with non-oil activity the main driver.
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The TASC Take A broadening industrial base — chemicals, mining, utilities — keeps demand high for technicians, operators and skilled trades, the kind of scaled technical hiring that outsourced staffing supports. |
Source: Arab News
Finance
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$400bn projected Saudi assets under management by 2027 |
Saudi Arabia's asset-management industry stayed resilient through the regional conflict, with assets under management passing $340 billion in the first quarter of 2026 and projected to exceed $400 billion by 2027, Fitch Ratings said. Industry AUM rose 17% year on year and 4% quarter on quarter, reaching about 26% of GDP, up from 23% a year earlier.
Fitch credited regulatory easing, wider participation from domestic and foreign investors, and a broader product range spanning mutual funds, sukuk, ETFs and private credit. Private funds remain the largest segment at about 54% of AUM, concentrated in real estate and equities.
The growth sits under the Financial Sector Development Program, with the Capital Market Authority cutting minimum capital for custody services and opening markets further to foreign investors. JP Morgan will add Saudi Arabia to its emerging-markets government bond index in 2027.
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The TASC Take A deepening financial sector means sustained hiring across asset management, compliance, fintech and custody — skilled, well-paid roles where firms increasingly need fast, compliant access to qualified talent. |
Source: Arab News
TASC in Saudi Arabia
Hiring under Saudi Arabia's new workforce rules
With occupational-fitness checks, professional accreditation and Saudisation all tightening, employers need compliant hiring, screening and payroll. TASC helps you build a Saudi-ready workforce, fast.
TASC Outsourcing — People for Tomorrow. Contract staffing, permanent hiring, payroll and EOR across Saudi Arabia. tascoutsourcing.com
