Vision 2030 Reaches Its Tenth Year with Leading Non-Oil Growth and Surging Tourism

In 2026, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reached the tenth milestone of Vision 2030, the comprehensive national plan launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2016 aimed at restructuring and diversifying the Saudi economy away from oil dependence. On this occasion, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released an extensive analysis titled "Vision 2030 in Its Tenth Year," evaluating the Kingdom's progress toward the key performance indicators established by the Vision from the outset.

The analysis noted that non-oil economic growth represents the most credible indicator of the Vision's progress to date, revealing a genuine structural shift in the Saudi economy away from reliance on oil revenues. Data from the vision2030.gov.sa platform indicates that non-oil GDP has become a cornerstone of the Kingdom's overall economic performance, amid a continuous rise in its share of the national economy.

In other sectors, tourism, entertainment, and sports recorded what the CSIS analysis described as "tangible development," as massive investments in tourism infrastructure and the entertainment sector contributed to reshaping the social and economic landscape within the Kingdom. According to monitoring by the Saudi Progress platform, tourist visits exceeded key interim targets, while international sports continue to shift with increasing momentum toward Saudi territory.

While some analysts believe that part of the Vision's targets remains ambitious beyond the pace of implementation, most agree that the Vision achieved what previous Gulf diversification initiatives failed to accomplish in mobilizing economic policies and launching infrastructure projects. The most prominent question in its tenth year remains the Kingdom's ability to maintain reform momentum amid a changing global environment and volatile oil markets.

What do these terms mean?

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Measurable standards used by governments and companies to evaluate progress toward specific goals. In the context of Vision 2030, these include the share of non-oil GDP in total GDP, the rate of women's participation in the labor market, and the number of tourist visits.

Non-Oil Gross Domestic Product (Non-Oil GDP): A measure of the total value of goods and services produced by the economy, excluding crude oil revenues. A rise in this figure indicates that the economy is growing through diversified drivers rather than relying on oil prices alone.