The Future Hospitality Summit (FHS) Saudi Arabia – the Kingdom’s most influential hospitality investment conference – will return to the Mandarin Oriental Al Faisaliah in Riyadh from 20-22 April 2026 following the success of this year’s event, which brought together over 1,100 global hospitality investors, innovators and senior decision-makers and facilitated 11 high-profile hotel signings and strategic announcements, reinforcing Saudi Arabia’s drive to deliver over 362,000 new hotel rooms by 2030 through its USD$10 billion tourism development pipeline as part of Vision 2030.
Across this year’s summit delegates reported USD 1.6 billion in business opportunities, underscoring FHS’s role as the region’s premier deal-making forum.
Under next year’s theme “Where Opportunity Meets Capital,” FHS Saudi Arabia 2026 will unite hospitality leaders and decision-makers to discuss hotel performance and development, the outlook for hospitality investment in the Kingdom and the key market trends driving the sector, aiming for actionable outcomes that will transform the industry, which continues to witness unprecedented growth.
Comprising some of the hospitality industry’s most prominent leaders, the FHS 2026 Saudi Arabia Advisory Board met in Riyadh last week to discuss what’s driving Saudi hospitality, and provided perspectives on the opportunities and challenges facing the Kingdom’s tourism sector as the journey toward Vision 2030 accelerates.
Top insights that emerged from the discussions included the opportunity to further proliferate homegrown Saudi hospitality brands that define the Kingdom’s identity; the development of experience-driven and organic tourism segments; and the global boom in branded residences—with under-construction projects up 455% over the past decade—and what this growth could mean for the sector in Saudi Arabia. Participants also highlighted the need for greater clarity around evolving foreign ownership and FDI laws, particularly as interest in branded residential offerings continues to rise.
The rapid pace of new development in the Kingdom, which represents the biggest hotel pipeline in the region, also highlighted several areas of strategic focus to ensure development plans remain on track, including the need for more robust industry data and pipeline visibility. With approximately 50 percent of new developments coming from the luxury segment, a rebalance between luxury and mid market segments would be critical. In addition, the reliance on traditional finance models and the banking sector was raised with the need to diversify to alternative forms of debt financing such as capital markets, in line with new Government regulations.
These, and a range of other topics will be featured across six content themes in the FHS Saudi Arabia 2026 agenda: Investment & Real Estate, Technology & Innovation, Talent & Education, Wellness & Lifestyle, F&B and Experiences and the dedicated Branded Residences Forum.
Jonathan Worsley, Chairman of The Bench, said: “Our Advisory Board meetings are instrumental in helping us steer our conference agendas and we were thrilled to have so many of the industry’s most senior leaders in the room in Riyadh last week. We look forward to another milestone event in 2026, driven by the industry, for the industry.”
Mr. Khalid S. Abuhaimed, Chief Executive Officer, Al Khozama Investments commented:” “Hosting FHS reflects our continued involvement in shaping the hospitality landscape in Saudi Arabia. The summit brings together leaders who are actively defining the sector’s next phase, and we value the opportunity to contribute our experience in this dialogue. As Saudi advances its tourism ambitions, we remain committed to supporting the market with measured, high-quality development”
For more information about the 2026 edition of the Future Hospitality Summit, please visit https://www.futurehospitality.com/
