The Economist magazine considered that the process of modernizing the economy in Saudi Arabia is going "slower than planned", citing several reasons behind the kingdom's inability to achieve its goals at the desired speed.
The report highlighted tourism, which is one of the most important pillars of "Vision 2030" announced by the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, with the aim of diversifying the economy away from oil, which the government expects to be the largest source of new jobs in the private sector in the coming years.
The report says that the kingdom has so much untapped potential that it did not grant tourist visas until 2019, and officials struggle to explain why they expect 50 million tourists to come to the kingdom annually, preferring Saudi Arabia to other destinations, and officials feel "ashamed" about the issue of alcohol permits.
As for the "halal tourism" market, Saudi Arabia faces stiff competition from cheaper and more established places in this sector, such as Turkey and Malaysia.
The same is true for the economy as a whole. Low subsidies, higher taxes, and higher employment have eroded some economic opportunities for private firms.
The report also indicates that Saudi Arabia faces the problem of persuading foreign companies and investors to choose the kingdom, and the foreign direct investment needed for accelerated growth is still slow.
By 2020, the kingdom had hoped to attract $10 billion, but only made $5 billion last year.
The report criticized Mohammed bin Salman's promise to attract $100 billion in foreign direct investment by 2030, and considered it to come in the context of a problem in the Saudi government that officials set ambitious goals and fail to achieve, and then simply seek to achieve larger goals.
In private conversations, investors fear the business climate in a one-man-dominated country and were alarmed in 2017 when the prince detained dozens of businessmen and royals on corruption charges.
There are also concerns among private sector companies over the huge tax bills demanded by the government, companies such as Uber and Careem.
Riyadh's threat to multinational companies with missing out on significant economic opportunities in the kingdom if they do not move their headquarters to Saudi Arabia has also led to the grumbling of executives residing in places like Dubai, which are less conservative and offer better amenities.
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