The massive investments Saudi Arabia is making in tourism infrastructure is aimed at benefiting the whole region, said Saudi Tourism Authority CEO Fahd Hamidaddin, in an interview with CNN’s Richard Quest.

“I think this is a regional play, whatever Saudi is doing is not just doing it for its own country within its political borders. The spillover at a regional level is [where] we believe the opportunity lies and it is our responsibility to make sure that the good of tourism serves the whole region,” he added during the interview at the ongoing World Travel & Tourism Council Global Summit in Riyadh.

On the country’s new airport, Hamidaddin said: “If you look at the ambition that we have, I think you would say, how can any of that be realized without a new airport and an infrastructure that supports it?”

On upcoming projects, he said: “Right in the first quarter of next year, we’re going to see the Red Sea Project also, opening its doors with three resorts.”