How Saudi Arabia's entertainment sector will help its economy

It has only been a few years since Saudi Arabia started establishing its entertainment scene, but its success has been so significant, it's already proving vital for the country's economy. 

A report published last month by commercial real estate services and investment firm CBRE found that the industry is expected to help expand the kingdom's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the next four years. 

As per the study, titled "Saudi Arabia Entertainment 2020: The Game Changer," the Gulf state's GDP is expected to "grow at a rate of 6.5 percent between 2019 and 2024 to exceed SR4 trillion [$1.065 trillion] by the end of the forecast period." 

Experts believe that the entertainment sector is one of the key non-oil related industries that will contribute to this growth. Here's how the rising sector may help expand the country's GDP: 

A quick glance at the amounts of money generated at events held over the past few months are a great indicator of the future. 

Riyadh Season, a multi-location festival, proved to be a massive success and generated a whopping 1 billion Saudi riyals ($266.5 million) for the kingdom after running from October 2019 to January. 

According to CBRE, the kingdom is currently planning tens of other events set to bring in profits and contribute to its GDP. These include ones that have become annual fixtures like Al Diriyah and Winter at Tantora. 

Cinemas, which launched across the country after officials lifted a ban imposed on them for decades, are also set to contribute to revenues. 

The quick growth of the local entertainment sector translated into significant transformations in the country's real estate sector. 

Before 2016, exhibitions and amusement made Saudi Arabia's entire entertainment industry. With the rise of other forms of entertainment, there's also been an increase in demand for real estate landscapes that work as entertainment spaces. 

More tourists from all over the world and neighboring countries now arrive in Saudi Arabia to attend entertainment events. This has also meant a rise in demand for hotels and other real estate amenities needed for them. 

As Saudi Arabia moves away from being entirely dependent on oil revenues, the country has been heavily investing in its leisure tourism sector, which is sort of intertwined with entertainment. 

It's clear that one of the main aims behind all the events being held across the kingdom is to attract tourists. So far, this strategy has been working. 

"As of 2018, the Kingdom received almost 60 million tourist trips. This number is expected to continue increasing in line with wider government reforms to expand the tourism sector and its offering across the country, to ultimately reach 100 million tourist trips by 2024," according to the CBRE report. 

The numbers are expected to continue going up in the kingdom because it's focused on offering tourists unique entertainment experiences and is facilitating their entrance into the country with fast track e-visas. 

The entire industry was practically non-existent in the kingdom in the past few decades and had to be completely re-established under the country's Vision 2030. 

The blueprint was placed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2016 to boost the country's oil-reliant economy. It aims at bolstering tourism, entertainment, and other industries that were previously put on the back-burner so that they become able to generate income for the country. 

Under it, the kingdom established a General Authority for Entertainment (GEA) tasked with organizing and planning entertaining events and festivals across the country. Since its establishment, the kingdom invested billions in hosting several concerts for the first time in years and launching a Saudi Comic-Con and a YouTube FanFest. 

One of the major steps taken under the authority is also the lift of the kingdom's long-standing ban on cinemas, which was officially announced in 2017.