Rocco Forte’s Assila Hotel is to open this month.

Saudi Arabia will see a record 68 new hotels and 29,033 hotel rooms open across its major cities in 2017, with Riyadh, Jeddah, Al Khobar and Makkah set to be the busiest areas for hospitality development.

Major new hotels forecast to open this year include Assila Hotel Rocco Forte (Q1 2017), Time Qurayyat Hotel (Q2 2017), Nobu Hotel Riyadh (Q2 2017), Swiss-Belhotel Al Khobar (Q4 2017) and the Abraj Kudai Towers, which will become the world’s biggest hotel when it opens its 10,000 rooms in Q4, 2017, according to an report by Tophotelprojects, prepared for The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia 2017, which takes place next month (April 4 to 6) in Jeddah.

Nobu Hospitality and Rocco Forte Hotels will enter the Saudi market for the first time. Rocco Forte’s Assila Hotel, opening on March 12, is the luxury hotel group’s only property in the Middle East. Located in Jeddah, it has 147 rooms, 63 suites, and a further 94 residential suites, across two towers.

The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia is celebrating its fifth edition and is being co-organised by Mice Arabia and dmg events. Popular sectors this year will be technology, interiors, and Horeca.