Saudi's Amaala resort to attract millionaires with special regulatory structure

An ultra-luxurious destination on Saudi Arabia's northwestern coast of the Red Sea will have its own regulatory structure as it targets UHNWIs.

The Amaala resort in the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Nature Reserve will be focused upon wellness, healthy living and meditation. It is being dubbed the "Riviera of the Middle East", with initial funding provided by the kingdom's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is spearheading the project.

Farah Zafar, chief legal officer at the Public Investment Fund KSA, said: "We're probably targeting the top 2.5 million ultra-high net worth individual luxury travellers to Amaala. It's a bespoke service and [prices] are quite high. It is curated and it is the first integrated wellness community in the world," he told Arabian Business.

"If you look at hotel operators in Riyadh currently, they are doing incredibly well, so [restrictions] haven't affected hotel operators in the region. Each project is going to have its own regulatory structure. I can't comment at what that looks like at the moment because we're actually working through it, but what I can say is Amaala will compete with the top 20 luxury global destinations in the world, and really the aim for us is to really surpass that," he added.

According to the developers, Amaala will feature "extraordinary architecture and unprecedented luxury in both hotels and private villas as well as a quaint retail village." It will also include an arts academy that will foster the growth and development of young artists from Saudi Arabia and the region.

The project will include marinas and a yacht club and aims to be a destination for boutique luxury cruises. The retail areas will include a mix of galleries, ateliers, artisan workshops and bespoke outlets along with a wide range of international and local restaurants.

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