Saudi Arabia Emerges as Top MICE Hub as Region Targets $100 Billion Industry
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Omar Haddad
- . November 28, 2025
- . Update: November 28, 2025 7:28 pm
Saudi Arabia is rapidly becoming the top destination in terms of Meeting, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) in the Middle East and the regional market is aiming at a high valuation of a hundred billion dollars. The financial support of the economic diversification aims of the Vision 2030 has spurred the growth of investment in global-standard facilities, event spaces, and hospitality in the Kingdom. The decision to host the International MICE Summit 2025 in Riyadh is another event that highlights the Saudi leadership in business events globally. This paper will discuss the MICE market development in the Kingdom, its driving forces and strategic efforts that will place the Kingdom as the leading MICE destination in the region.
Rapid Expansion and Market Growth
The MICE industry is the most booming in G20 countries with Saudi Arabia realizing a growth of 44 percent over the last five years. The total area of exhibition has gone up by 320% in comparison to 2018 and presently it covers more than 300,000 square meters with further expansions scheduled to 1 million square meters before the end of the decade. The number of seats in the conference increased almost twice to more than 27,000. The main hubs are Riyadh, Jeddah, and the Eastern Province, and the new destinations in Madinah, AlUla, and Asir. The market value is estimated to exceed beyond $3.2 billion in the year 2025 and even more than five billion in the year 2030.
Strategic Investments and Infrastructure
The NEOM, Qiddiya and The Red Sea development, are mega-projects that are providing innovative convention centers, hotels and transport systems. The Saudi Convention and Exhibition General Authority (SCEGA) simplifies the process of event licensing and increases the global competitiveness. In addition, 362,000 more hotel rooms are in the pipeline and this has been achieved through 800 million incentives that have reduced the operating cost of the hotels helping the hospitality industry to grow rapidly. Saudia and Riyadh Air are the national airlines that support connectivity and ensure that individuals attend business events worldwide.
Business Tourism and Economic Impact
As corporate events contribute more than half of the revenues in the market, the increasing number of multinational activities in Saudi Arabia contributes to recurring meetings, product launches, and corporate retreats. Soft power and collaboration between nations increase through public sector summits and multilateral diplomacy. The MICE business is a job creator, increases tourism expenditure and economy diversification to avoid overreliance on oil, in line with Vision 2030.
Future Outlook
The sustainability of Saudi Arabia in its innovation, infrastructure, and regulatory changes makes it the MICE giant in the area. The increased variety of venues and the organization of flagship events on the international scale project the Kingdom as a place surpassing other local competitors, which opens limitless business and investment perspectives.
