On the sparkling shores of the Red Sea, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is developing the ultimate luxury resort which promises to provide local and international visitors with a new level of refinement and luxurious comfort. The AMAALA resort will offer its guests adventure, culture, history, sports, relaxation and premium shopping, while they bask in the very highest standards of wellness and healthy living. CEO Nicholas Naples introduces AMAALA and discusses his vision for this once-in-a-lifetime project.
When will AMAALA open for business?
We are working towards a Phase One opening date of late 2021, with a project completion date of 2028. AMAALA is being designed by some of the best architects and designers in the world, and we work closely with them on the timelines. Our project continues to gain momentum and we’re very enthusiastic about the coming next stages.
AMAALA will be a unique luxury resort destination promising to exceed all expectations. The values, the experience and the opportunity for self-discovery that AMAALA will offer differentiates us from every other resort on the planet. We are focusing on providing transformative experiences and transformational luxury. We seek to inspire our visitors with art, wellness and the beauty of the Red Sea. It is incredibly exciting to have an opportunity to create something that will be truly unique. We will seek to break the luxury resort mould, building a destination that entertains and delights visitors for generations to come.
How many visitors do you expect? Where will they come from?
We expect approximately 500,000 overnight guests per year once the project is fully complete. Additionally, we will host as many as one million annual event participants and respite-seeking day-trippers enjoying our year-long calendar of art shows, festivals, and other curated activations. There will be a broad range of amenity options within AMAALA, including retail and restaurants, all set in a comfortable but relaxed uncrowded and unhurried atmosphere.
A key aspect of AMAALA is our ability to create truly individualised experiences for our visitors, supporting our promises as the ultimate unique destination. We will provide amenities and services enabling each guest to shape their own luxury experience. AMAALA will celebrate arts, culture, fashion, wellness and sports, providing each guest with a bespoke luxury lifestyle of their own design.
We will cater to Singles, couples and families from the Saudi Arabia and GCC region but also with a focus on the international customer. As such, we will seek an expanded audience and develop markets in China, Brazil, Russia, India, Western Europe, the US and Japan.
How easy will it be for your international guests to reach AMAALA?
Saudi Arabia is much closer to major international cities than many people realise. And with its close proximity to major destinations in the region, including Marrakech, Petra, Cairo, Beirut, Dubai and Istanbul, AMAALA is well-positioned to become the heart of the new Red Sea Riviera.
AMAALA will have its own airport, initially serving private jet and charter traffic arrivals, although our ultimate goal is to receive commercial flights. We will benefit from the many initiatives sponsored by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to increase tourism to the country, including the issuance of visas to sport and cultural events attendees. Such was the case for Riyadh’s Formula E event and the Winter Festival in Al-Ula, with more major events forthcoming. When you visit AMAALA, you’ll receive an automatic entry visa via an online portal or upon arrival.
When will be peak season? When is the best time to visit AMAALA?
AMAALA will be a twelve-month-a-year destination thanks to the unique climate along the Red Sea coast. Our summers average 35 to 38 degrees- quite comfortable at the seaside. In the winter, temperatures range from 19 to 21 degrees, so you can still enjoy the coast and the sea.
People think of Saudi Arabia as being too hot. In actuality, our weather is very similar to the Mediterranean, but without the humidity of Dubai. People who enjoy the Mediterranean climate will see AMAALA as a destination which can extend that familiar seasonality well into the winter months.
We also benefit from our close proximity to the Suez Canal, the gateway from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, and with our temperate climate, AMAALA will become a natural and desirable yachting destination year-round.
Where will guests stay? What can they expect?
We will offer our visitors the most luxurious island experience in the world, with hotels featuring services and bespoke experiences for every guest. We will reinvent what luxury means to every guest, and create an experience that not only resonates, but will have a meaningful impact on their lives well beyond their AMAALA stay.
“We are building Amaala on a zero carbon footprint. We have about fifteen criteria for sustainability which cover everything from full solar fields to waste management and recycling.”
Nicholas Naples, CEO, AMAALA
What activities will guests to AMAALA be able to enjoy?
Our guests will have access to a unique suite of services, including arts, cultural events and sports offerings. There will be hotels and private villas, a retail village, an academy of the arts and a world-class marine research facility- all within a single resort destination.
AMAALA’s offerings will go beyond its material products, striking an emotional chord with guests. Through curated wellness and rejuvenation programs, we will connect with our guests’ hearts and minds.
In terms of wellness, there will be a major focus on sports, including an elite training facility for tennis, golf and football, taught by professionals, along with family-related sporting activities such as equestrian, camel and falconry plus sailing, snorkelling and wind surfing. We will partner with the best athletes and trainers in the world, and bring this special attribution to our guests.
We will also partner with some of the world’s best wellness institutes and practitioners, offering specialist treatments in medical, aesthetic and integrative wellness to enhance one’s total health and lifestyle status.
The AMAALA experience will be enhanced by its inspired setting, spread across beautiful, untouched geography. Guests will enjoy personalized holiday experiences situated among stunning scenic, mountainous landscapes and awe-inspiring coastal vistas. Our guests can dive in pristine coral reefs or cruise on luxury yachts, and then shop in galleries, ateliers, artisan workshops and bespoke retail outlets. AMAALA will have an extensive collection of international and local signature dining venues, presenting our guests with world-class culinary offerings.
Arts and culture will be an important foundation of AMAALA’s brand promise to our guests. We will have an academy of the arts sponsoring 20 to 30 up and coming artists from around the world. Their workshops will host events where guests can interact with these resident artists and master craftsmen. There will be opportunities for guests to participate in the creation of art alongside these artisans, promising an immersive learning experience unlike anything offered at luxury resorts today.
Who will you be your partners in the world of the arts?
We are working on a range of partnerships and seek to work with two or three notable museums in the areas of contemporary art and classical museums. We expect to have a strong Saudi and international artistic presence.
How important is sustainability to AMAALA?
Sustainability is a cornerstone of the project’s development and we are building AMAALA with a zero-carbon footprint as our goal. We have about fifteen criteria for sustainability covering everything from the use of full solar fields to waste management and recycling. We will use sustainable farming techniques to create as much organic produce as we can locally, while we seek to build a secondary industry around sustainable farming. We have so much land which can cultivated, ultimately minimizing our need to source food in from elsewhere.
During our strategic planning phase, significant effort was made to ensure that AMAALA’s development, and the operation of its myriad of resorts and extensive facilities, co-exists with the natural eco-system of the area. The delivery of our sites will prioritise sustainability and source innovative, eco-friendly solutions, such as sustainable farming, solar power generation, an all-electric vehicle fleet, and other features, while promising not to disrupt or harm the region’s fragile marine ecosystem.
Our coral reefs are pristine. And vitally, our marine biosphere has been spared from the ongoing environmental havoc contributing to rapidly disappearing reefs in most other parts of the planet. We are going to great lengths to preserve and enhance our coral reefs, taking our role as its custodian very seriously. We intend to establish a marine life institute focusing on research for the preservation and enhancement of coral reefs around the world. We’ve entered into an agreement with the Prince Albert Foundation in Monaco, partnering with its research initiatives focused on marine life conservation and education.
What will be the social and economic impact of AMAALA?
The impact will be significant, especially in the north-western region. AMAALA will deliver a number of longstanding economic benefits to the Kingdom including a contribution of 0.64% to GDP by 2030 and enrolling 400 people into the AMAALA academy for educational development. We anticipate providing 17-20 thousand direct jobs. Including indirect jobs, AMAALA will create between 50 and 60 thousand full-time positions.
How are you funding AMAALA? How much interest are you seeing from international investors?
The Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, is fully committed to the project. PIF provides seed capital and is currently the primary sponsor and majority equity source for AMAALA. We look to have some debt on the project but that could come in various forms, including equity from institutional investors. That capital structure is being designed now.
We are seeing a remarkable groundswell of interest from local, regional and international investors. AMAALA is projected to be profitable generally because when you do something new, truly unique and very customer focused, it resonates with investors. You can create more demand for services and experiences that are not easily copied, thereby setting a new global standard. Our curation of projects, brands and experiences is very attractive to our target customers because the AMAALA experience will be truly one-of-a-kind
As published in Fortune magazine
