A $1tn-plus pivot to tourism is unfolding across Saudi Arabia. Can it keep up?

The gradient of colours below as we fly over the Red Sea is striking. Shades of blue go from near-navy to aqua until the sea meets the Arabian Peninsula, a flat strip of pale yellow sand that gradually gives way to the darker brown of the Hijaz Mountains asserting themselves under the bright sunshine.

As we land, the newness of it all is unmistakable; while there are now several connections weekly from Riyadh, Jeddah and Dubai, our flight is the only commercial flight that day. A large plane…