Tag Archives: Sindalah

November 29, 2025 · 11:52

Identifying a great idea

That is where I found myself in a creative mood two days ago and whilst I did one creative idea yesterday (18 hours ago) I am still a little tired of these AI bubble stories as we are swarmed by the AI wannabe’s telling us what a great solution AI is, whilst some economists are seeing the light that trillions of dollars are waster against a (at best) 3% return on investment. Even the most generic bank gives more in interest. So I decided to take another creative gander and this isn’t really my idea. I saw the idea and I was pretty much blown away. The idea (as far as I know it) originally comes from the Puy du Fou theme park in France. The part I saw was “On board the ship, take part in the great discoveries, from Cape Horn to Alaska, all the way to Vanikoro… and endure the most challenging of storms! You will experience, from within, the odyssey of an expedition from which there was no return: the mysterious voyage of La Pérouse!” And that park is a whole lot bigger, but doesn’t apply to my ‘idea’. But it needs to be said that “Mystère de La Pérouse” is seemingly a whole lot bigger, but what I saw was enough the title the senses of creativity. Poy du Fou is “located in France in Vendée (85) on the outskirts of the town of Les Épesses and can be reached via the A87 motorway (exit no. 28). This land of legends is ideally located 3h15 from Paris, 3h from Bordeaux, 2h from Poitiers, 1h30 from La Baule and La Rochelle, 1h from Angers, Nantes and Les Sables d’Olonne.” As I see it, (especially as everything is seemingly in French) a massive attraction for French speaking Canadians in 2026 (so they can avoid America a little longer) and the map, which you can look at (at https://www.puydufou.com/france/en/must-see-france) seems to have the same setting that the Dutch Archeon has but as I see it is a lot bigger and they have several hotel (6 at present), which start at £61.46/pers. 

But that is enough advertisement for Poy du Fou, it was de “Mystère de La Pérouse” that inspired me to make ‘an altered vision’ for both Saudi Arabia (Sindalah) and the UAE either Dubai or Abu Dhabi Marina area (my personal preferred location is Abu Dhabi) and it helps if you watch this video (my inspiration, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnkpVkZlGPU) You see, there is nothing wrong with what I saw, but what happened when you make this walkthrough in either the largest Portuguese galleon the Padre Eterno, or the The Prins Willem, which was a 17th-century East Indiaman of the Dutch East India Company (VoC) and one in Saudi Arabia and the other in the UAE location and that brings a additional push for these locations. As I see it (with my limited options) I reckon that Sindalah in Saudi Arabia might need a lot more pull and these settings will embellish the draw on the crowds going there. Abu Dhabi already has an amazing pull, but there is nothing against a little more pull.

As I see it, the immersive view is only part of this, and it could use an Arabian vessel of those days as well, like a dhow or a ghali (optional both). And whilst the immersive view might be a nice setting, adjusting a place to eat looking in either a Portuguese setting like a string place for food and drinks like the  Padre Eterno, or its counterpart the Prins Willem, might give more appeal. The setting is the start of adjusting the view to international tourists and I reckon that these places might also appeal to the local population. I reckon that these views might pull even more tourists. You see, people need choice of hat they are able to do, more choice will set aside the fear that they feel bored, but that is merely the stage or feeding anticipation. As I see it, feeding the options of awareness gives way to consideration. This has been established decades ago, but how to go about this? Most people ‘rely’ on social media and that is not wrong, but in todays market where people are swayed through AI advertisement, there is a need to reinforce awareness and that requires options, a notion often disregarded by a lot of people and when I saw the above mentioned video, something inside me just caught on and that is only one option that Puy du Fou brought to my brain and when you consider that this could given the people (especially locals) a history tour of what merchant navy brought in those days it helps having a tour in these two places. 

So this idea with both the Saudi and Emirati government I leave to them and perhaps it is easier to contact Puy du Fou and its president Nicolas de Villiers, whose father created this theme park. It might be easier to get around certain settings here and it is run by a non-profit organisation and they might like being liked in other nations as well. So this is what I had (together with yesterdays blog) and I reckon that I showed once again that one does not need AI to create stuff. So there is that too. 

So have a great day and feel free to join the Saturday I am currently on, Vancouver is still 7 hours away from Saturday.

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July 22, 2025 · 17:06

More bad news?

Yesterday I got some news from FTN News that might spell bad news for America. America is at this moment drowning in tourism ‘debts’ (for a lack of a better word). At present the downfall is set to 29 billion dollar and there are several sources who give us that there is all likelihood that this will not be reversed until 2029. And that is merely the reversal of income (if America does an about face basically today) the loss of income will continue. America will bleed tourism revenue for years to come. And the bad news that is added is seen (at https://ftnnews.com/travel-news/aviation/inside-saudi-arabias-bold-plan-for-a-low-cost-airline-with-45-planes-by-2030/) giving us ‘Inside Saudi Arabia’s Bold Plan for a Low-Cost Airline with 45 Planes by 2030’ where we see “Saudi Arabia’s bold plan for a low-cost airline with 45 planes by 2030 is the Kingdom’s latest move to transform its aviation sector and boost tourism and connectivity” Now don’t think this is a silly notion, but at present in Europe, Canada, Asia, Australia and a few more countries people can only afford one vacation a year and the sewing of cheap holidays to a place where many like to see it, it means that most will contemplate Saudi Arabia against the unwelcoming grounds of America. Considering that the bulk of Muslims (who are about 1.8 Billion, close to 20%) they all will consider Saudi Arabia over America, especially if that comes with lower costs. As such this is almost a slam dunk win for Saudi Arabia. So when we see “The new carrier will be operated by a consortium led by UAE-based Air Arabia, in partnership with Saudi companies Kun Investment and Nesma Group. According to the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation, this alliance was awarded the contract to launch the airline after a competitive bidding process that also included Jazeera Airways and other regional players.” It sets a setting that the UAE/Saudi Arabia connection could spell a lot more bad news for certain parties. As stated, base operations might be in Dammam, yet they are aiming to carry at least 10 million passengers per year once fully operational. Its 81-route network—comprising 24 domestic and 57 international destinations will set the fall to others up to 10,000,000 passengers annually and that is merely the beginning. As I see it, the 10,000,000 will grace Dammam, Riyadh, Jeddah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Considering the simplest setting that many will now be able to afford a trip to Dubai with its 0% taxation and Apple growing there too I expect a boom of people trying to unite cheap vacation with cheap shopping and in that regards Abu Dhabi remains an option for these people. The could visit both with the High Speed train that takes you to the other UAE destination in a mere 35 minutes. So how interesting is that against any place in America? 

So is this a real threat against American revenue? I believe it is and after the bad setting that America pushed itself in, and the upcoming Vision 2030, I reckon that America might get a prolonged bad tourism time going through until 2032/2033, a few years after Disney and Harry Potter theme parks graced Yas Island totaling the amount of theme parks to 6 with the added Yas Island Mall and the F1 races there too. And Harry Potter to be expected to arrive late 2026 and as there is no date for the new Disney park, I expect that this will not happen before early 2027. But that sets a new danger for America getting relieve to its tourism downfall. 

The setting that SeaWorld is an unique place merely sets the premise towards a lot of tourists selecting Abu Dhabi over America and that is merely the start of this matter. So as I see it, whomever invested in the new airline (apparently The NESMA Group and Kun Investment Holding) seem to be riding an great profit venture and as this goes on the investment might turn out to be a golden one and that is before the impact is seen that Neom Bay airport will face and that means tourists will flock towards Trojena and its ski slopes. Yup, the Kun Investment Holding is looking towards the bright side of profits.

So could I be wrong? 
It is a fair question, but the reality is that nearly all people need a vacation and when the price goes down people can do more and as such these 10,000,000 annual places are 10,000,000 that America loses, pretty directly and that is after the losses it is already facing at the moment, as such I feel pretty confident that this will make it, even as it is not the only one in Saudi Arabia. There is also Flyadeal, Flynas and Air Arabia. The fact that Saudi Arabia is ready to expand the tourist game implies that they have been upgrading with a focus and I think it will drive people towards Trojena and Sindalah, which is besides the options that Abu Dhabi and Dubai offer. So as I see it, America will be facing several more hard years and that is if they do an about face on tourism as per today, when they do not, by 2028 Ski tourism will go towards Saudi Arabia as well. A nasty package is coming to the American shores. They did this to themselves, as such I feel it is their own fault. But to see this amount of damage due to the stupidity of America first is pretty laughable in any book you read.

As such have a great day and if you need a point of investment, I reckon having a better look at the Kun Investment Holding might not be a bad idea. Don’t ask me for advice, this is all I see and I am not the expert in investing, but there are good times ahead for Kun Investment Holding.

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July 18, 2025 · 18:35

The path of New Technology

That was the setting that I had in mind. You see, some time ago I saw the ‘idea’ that Elon Musk allegedly has. There is nothing wrong with the idea, but in this day and age, with all the settings going on, who is interested in going to New York? Been there, done that I say (in 1999), but the larger setting isn’t the place. There is nothing wrong with the place. Yet as I see it, like the HS2 (UK) the hyper-loop from London to New York seems to be a less then stellar idea. I know that allegedly Elon Musk is setting the stage so that he can get everything as much tested as possible before he is off to Mars (the planet, not the candy bar) and that is fine. Good luck to him.

Yet the setting of a hyper loop in NEOM makes a lot more sense. As I see it, three lines in NEOM seems to be the idea that could attract even more people and more advanced travel options.

Consider the first line connecting Sindalah, the Line and Aquellum (optionally more), the second line connecting Neon bay Airport, the line and Trojena. The third line would be over the length of the line itself allowing people to traverse west to east line in a little over 30 minutes. Optionally with a few stops. 

Basically allow the larger places in minutes. From Sindalah to Aquellum in less than an hour and that is just for starters. It would also allow the people in the line to go towards their destinations in mere minutes. There could be additional benefits too, consider that the people over the larger part in Neom could be off to the ski-resort in an hour, driving the desire to Trojena towards an all time high and the same could be said for Sindalah. 

This is not the easiest setting and perhaps that Elon Musk has the required equipment already as I reckon that these drills don’t grow on trees (I checked) the fabrication of these drills takes several months (if not longer) and we are in 2025, as such the creation of these lines might take more than  the 5 years required, so some haste is due. And with that setting Saudi Arabia will create a new worlds first. A hyper loop that connects these places would also push tourism to a larger degree, with additional connections that allow travel to Riyadh, Jeddah and Medina could grow tourism beyond anything they had expected and  considering that there are 1800 million Muslims, only 33 million living in Saudi Arabia could expand on expectations, desires and wonder and that would make it another first in the world. There are additional considerations as the hyper loop could transport the injured over a larger area, reducing the needs for a more equipped Hospital to the line and several smaller hospitals to other areas. That is, if the setting of a hyper loop would appeal to the Saudi government. 

There were some additional thought to combine lines one and two, but that is hat some would call the micro management (not meant for me) and the idea to live in the line, work in Aquellum and play in Trojena has massive appeal. I wonder how many Canadians might like the idea of skiing there. The setting seeing Neom would be great, if only I am still alive when these places were completed (five years with my butterfingers?) 

Still, the thought of hyper loop trains in Neom should spark any person who enjoys trips on the train. Ill try to get other IP thoughts sorted out tomorrow. Have a great day.

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April 25, 2025 · 17:25

Changing the reason

That is the setting and it is not a bad setting. The reporter, the spokespeople, no one broke any laws and no one created harm in the process. The latter reason is merely my reason, but with the tariff setting it matters. I am talking about the article in tech radar (at https://www.techradar.com/pro/pc-makers-are-planning-plants-in-saudi-arabia-to-try-and-avoid-us-tariffs) where we are given in the headline ‘PC makers are planning plants in Saudi Arabia to try and avoid US tariffs’, you see, it is not about tariffs at this time (perhaps partially).

You see, the article gives us “Major PC makers like Lenovo, HP and Dell are reportedly exploring building new manufacturing plants in Saudi Arabia in order to avoid high US tariffs on Chinese-made goods.” I reckon that ASUS is doing the same thing. There is a larger prospect. Consider NEOM Sindalah, NEOM Oxagon, NEOM Trojan, NEOM the Line, NEOM Magna and all its 12 subdivisions then we get the Mukaab project in Riyadh. These settings represent thousands of computers and most of them laptops and netbooks. A setting I predicted in January 2024 (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2024/01/25/those-happy-dreams/) on the 25th of January 2024 I implied the need for Saudi Arabia (and the UAE) to change the way customer service was done in these places. With NICE as an example, Saudi Arabia could create a Muslim solution for this and considering the growth of travelers which is supposed to surpass 100,000,000, at present (last year) was over 800,000 people and NICE has that covered, but as it is an Israeli solution, it might not fly in Saudi Arabia or the UAE and as such the premise needed to be changed and in that article I set the premise out a little better (I had retyping my own words).

As such with these thousands of systems required, it makes perfect sense for Lenovo to get into the game on a local setting, I might not be a huge fan of the Lenovo, but plenty of people love them and as such I see tremendous strides forward for Lenovo, my personal vote goes to ASUS, but that does not make Lenovo a bad choice, it is merely not my cup of tea. 

As such when we see “DigiTimes says HP and Dell have also sent teams to Saudi Arabia to scout out potential factory sites following local government invitations. The biggest attraction for manufacturers to relocate to Saudi Arabia are the 10% reciprocal tariffs, compared with 245% for China.” As I personally see it, it needs close tracks to each of these centers, likely it needs to favor Oxagon and Riyadh, but that is merely my point of view. Likely there will be service centers in each of the 4 locations, and relying on how Magna plays out, a larger setting is required there, but other with more geolocating intelligence is required. 

As Lenovo goes there and as the others (DELL, HP) come too, the setting for Saudi Arabia increases, there is at the near coming time a setting where these brands could service clients in Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria as well. It could explode service and sales settings a lot more for these regions than the EU and USA can. So when I see the quote “However, the PC market’s immediate future remains uncertain. “In addition to the direct impact of tariffs, the stop-start nature of announcements and delays have cast uncertainty around pricing for consumer electronics this year,” Canalys Analyst Greg Davis explained.” I merely mention “Go pull the other foot”, you see the tariffs are merely an excuse and an optionally bump in revenue for these companies. I reckon that these reasons Trump (oops typo) the tariff reason at present and as Saudi Arabia makes strides to completing these settings the need for systems increase a lot and the need for servers in these locations would explode the need for CISCO equipment as well. 

This is a larger setting in the need for these companies to get ready as they might require localization and as I see it, the one who is there will get a larger options and a larger slice of the revenue stream. But that could merely be me.

Have a great day and enjoy the weekend. I have to kill hundreds of people in a place called Cyrodil this weekend and I am buying a nice house in Skingrad, but they tell me that I have weird priorities.

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April 24, 2025 · 18:34

OK, this is new

That happens, even to me (not that I am such a high shining light), but the news from Planet Rugby caught me unaware. You see, they give us (at https://www.planetrugby.com/news/saudi-arabia-sports-minister-makes-bold-claim-as-multi-host-2035-rugby-world-cup-bid-considered

) that the stadiums for the Rugby World Cup in 2035 are ready. Personally I think that if it fits a soccer team, it will fit a Rugby team, but what do I know. You merely have to get an eraser to wipe away the old lines and place a few new ones (and replace the goals). So as we are given “The Sports Minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, has confirmed the nation’s intent to host the tournament in 10 years.” I do not oppose, I actually have no feelings at all on the matter as it just isn’t ice hockey. But the setting of Saudi Arabia hosting the Rugby World Cup is pretty much OK with me. The fact that the United Arab Emirates and Qatar are signing up for the hosting as well only sets me against Qatar. It is basically limited to the small detail that “Qatar has been a key financial supporter of the Palestinian militant organization Hamas, transferring more than $1.8 billion to Hamas over the years.” And that is a big no-no for me. 

So as we are getting the quote “Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 Football World Cup, but could double down with a bid for the Rugby World Cup the following year in a never-before-seen sporting double. Following an appearance at last weekend’s Formula 1 Jeddah Grand Prix, the minister was asked about the prospect of hosting the event of a sport that Saudi Arabia seldom plays.” The idea that a venue earns its keep by not hosting one but two world events has its appeal. For me the appeal is that these venues mostly serve one purpose and that is catering to the event and then? That is the setting I wonder about and there is a second setting. You see, with all the 2030 events running the setting for Saudi Arabia presents itself to the world for more than one setting has appeal. I actually wonder if a case can be made to host Sailing races at NEOM: Sindalah. As I see it, 2030-2040 might be the decade of Saudi Arabia. There is no doubt that we will see news from Saudi hater with their human right settings (which they negate a lot when it comes to Russia, Syria, Yemen and a few other places). Saudi Arabia has a proud heritage and it is a Muslim Nation. That doesn’t mean that it should be held to ‘different’ standards. 

So when we are given “Of the three, the United Arab Emirates is by far the most competitive team, sitting inside the world’s top 50 in 49th place” and the stage of “with a decade until the potential spectacle and a likely large financial fund for the sport in Saudi Arabia, it’s impossible to rule out a rise over the next few years if their bid were to be successful” in this I have the setting that the Olympics have only be held in Greece twice, with the political setting that Emperor Theodosius I banned the games in 393 AD in order to promote Christianity (I personally think that that Pope Siricius couldn’t run if his life depended on it). Oh, and when did anyone actually run the Marathon to Marathon? Or basically when exactly did anyone laurel Pheidippides for running his heart out (quite literally)? All basic questions, aside from how many marathons have been held in Kenya. This might introduce rugby to Saudi Arabia and a few other muslim nations as well and that should never be ignored. In that light the UAE is as worthy a choice as anything else. But the case has been made by Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal to host it in Saudi Arabia. 

So, as we see the quote by the sports minister “I think our main intention is to develop sports within the kingdom” we need to see the power of that intent. And with the quote “And then today we have roughly 97 federations. We’re not going to host everything with 97 federations, but why do we have 97 federations? It’s because we want to promote sports” we see the larger issue. We also need to acknowledge that some sports are near alien for the Arabic Nations. To be honest I never expected to see the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and yet at present we see Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman and Bahrain part of it. All places where water doesn’t tend to get solid (a prerequisite for the game). So as such I am a little curious if Saudi Arabia will be successful in that endeavor. And to show you what could happen 

So what does it take for Saudi Arabia to show the world the existence of the image below, worn by Saudi expats, fans and Rugby tourists all over the planet? 

These are the moments that matter to a lot of people, when a nation grows into the ranks of a sport, people tend to take notice. Not these captains of industry with their $899 lunches (sorry Mr. Jesse), but the ordinary people cheering for their team (for example the Kraken) eating their simple sandwiches and burgers cheering their teams along, because that is their happy place and whilst Polo has its share of fans, the larger slice of the world cheers for Cricket, Rugby, Ice Hockey, Soccer and Football ands as such I applaud the idea to see Saudi Arabia add another game to their stage and for all the young ‘entrepreneurial’ spirits, have fun. I wonder where it will be held as well as the participating nations. Wouldn’t it be great for Saudi Arabia that the announcement will draw people out, ready to try the sport and succeeding? How wild will the cheers be for a Saudi team to get to these games?

So as previews go, here is another one. It might be a problem if they play South Africa, but they will just have to create an alternative jersey.

Have a great day and for the real Hockey players out there. It is called a biscuit, you can’t eat it. 

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January 21, 2025 · 02:38

Openings to your fortune

That was the thought I had. Well, it was part of this. You see last week I saw news in the Financial Review (at https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/saudi-arabia-nears-deal-to-take-big-stake-in-foxtel-s-new-owner-dazn-20250115-p5l4gr) and people will think “You and how many more?” And that is a fair view. But think of this “When you are competing with an increasing amount of contenders and when that levy comes crashing down, do you care?” When we see the fires in California, can you afford to be coy or emotionally vested in the needs of others? Good business is where you find it, an old expressions that the crime lord Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) threw in our faces in the movie Robocop (1987), but what you mis is that there is a lot of truth in that. When you are trying to make ends meet, does it matter how you got into a place? Does it yield more favor with anyone when the front door seems close and there are people waiting in line, is it that important to ‘join’ them when there is an open patio door to the same location? An entrance is an entrance. So as we see “Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is in discussions to take a stake of up to 10 per cent in global streaming business DAZN, a deal that would hand the Persian Gulf kingdom an influential voice in Australian broadcaster Foxtel.” With the added “DAZN, which specialises in sports streaming, is controlled by British businessman Len Blavatnik and last month agreed to buy Foxtel from News Corp and Telstra in a deal it said valued the local group at $3.4 billion.” Now I can be certain that Len Blavatnik might not be interested in my script, but he knows people and the small herring you throw in the pool might get the attention of the big fish you want to come to your side, either as a supporting player, or even in opposition. The price? Optionally a lousy payday for the first script. But if that gives a decent guarantee that scripts 2,3, and 4 come with a (hopefully) decent payday. And now as California is a cinderblock, it also stands to reason that the pool of scripts suddenly falls (close to) dry. Bares thinking doesn’t it? Because as you are trying to make up your mind Canadians in movies are seeing their option clear to now harvest whatever can be harvested.

So why this path? 
Well for me there is a clear option, but there is more you see, as Foxtel changes hands to British businessman Len Blavatnik, we see more than a mere change, we also see opportunity. As Saudi Arabia is setting their hands to the sport section of Foxtel, there will be people who will look at whatever is there?

And now more eyes will be hopefully looking at my script ‘How to assassinate a politician’ (aka Essay), which was written for an Islamic population and now we are off to the races. How many Islamic laced scripts has Hollywood ever delivered? And now that Hollywood s partially out of business, we can hold our heads high and allow the opportunity to make a few coins.

Is it a guarantee? 
Of course it’s not, but until this happened there were little options outside of Dubai Media and Al Saudiya for me and now there is another doorway, hence the patio door will have to do for me (at present). The simplest setting that Kurtwood Smith was offering us, becomes a doorway where the optional coins reside for us. We found business by going via the side door and it might not work. Yet I feel certain that hungry revenue people will get to see it and that is exactly the door I needed. I might have to sacrifice one script for little to get the visibility to offer the other scripts for a nice fee. And the fun part is that Saudi Arabia has its media channels, but with Hollywood (partially) out of commission, they too needs their channels to produce and now they are handed another option to look at, will it work? Does it match the quality they need? Those are questions for tomorrow. Today we (or I) at least got my way onto the premises. And that was the direction of business I needed. 

And with the quote “DAZN has been expanded aggressively, not only agreeing to acquire Foxtel – along with its streaming platforms Binge and Kayo – but also paying $US1 billion to broadcast FIFA’s inaugural Club World Cup competition.” This is not my field, but they will need to fill up spaces and that will be done with reduced options and a cheap script will be exactly what they need, especially as they will need to fill time gaps for Al Saudiya. And if you think that the last paragraph was a negative one, you would be wrong. The article gives us “But Brian Han, an analyst at Morningstar, said he was not optimistic about Foxtel’s prospects. In a note to his clients last month, he said the broadcaster was “burdened with expensive sports rights and mired in the ever-competitive streaming space against the global digital behemoths”.” You see, he has a point if you think of the way everything has worked all this time. It might have BEEN about “expensive sports rights” but Saudi Arabia has between now and 2030 a massive caliber of options, and that is all Saudi terrain. Trojena will have its own ski slopes, skating rings and so much more, all Saudi. Then there is Sindalah for the water sports. And I cannot even begin to fill the idea of The Line and all will have thousands of people who need to be entertained. I think that a lot of people haven’t even begun to consider how big the transition to Saudi Arabia will be. As such getting in there first has an enormous amount of options for the eager person seeking transition. And for the ones who missed it, when you get access to one it should open up to both (via Saudi Arabia). And that is before you consider that Bangladesh has 150.36 million muslims. That is 4 times the size of the Saudi population. Do you think that Saudi Arabia isn’t looking to service their shows in Bengali? I saw that option years ago, now it is time to seek if it has options for me as well.

So whilst the rest of the world is seeking to unwind their hatred for President Trump, I’ll be seeking the options I can see for good business.

Have a sunny and wonderful day.

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December 2, 2024 · 00:04

When it rains, it pours

That was the very first thought I had when I was confronted with the opinion piece in the Middle East Monitor (at https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241129-saudi-arabia-abandons-pursuit-of-us-defence-treaty-over-israel-stalemate/) where we see ‘Saudi Arabia abandons pursuit of US defence treaty over Israel stalemate’. I have said it before and I will say it again. The US needs to stop their stop gap resolution of “We can do this, if we can have….” That is a setting that is past tense. America needs to open all valves to get any revenue out of Saudi Arabia (and other nations there). Now that we see “Saudi Arabia is now pushing for a more modest military cooperation agreement, two Saudi and four Western officials told Reuters” the US needs to stop its appeasement trajectory. On the plus side China is pretty happy with that flawed approach from America. There is every chance that China will open the flood gates and let Saudi Arabia go nuts on the Chengdu J-20. 

Is this a given? Nope, but for others to see Saudi Arabia embracing the J-20 is the first sign that America is about to lose several contracts. Not all (it fits with the modest military cooperation agreement setting) I predicted a loss of 40% towards the US defense contracts and so far there are indications that 30 billion left American shores for Europe and China (unverified numbers). But the first stage has been reached. And the setting changes if this does happen. The American loans are set to a 90%-95% fulfilment of contracts and there are larger consideration that America will at best get 60%-65% restated for America. And it gets worse for the US, Saudi Arabia has stated to grow its national defense settings and if China makes that happen all whilst Antony Blinken remains in the appeasement setting, the losses will get worse. I speculate a lot worse, but I don’t have access to anything reliable for the numbers in that game. As such, I need to add the ‘speculation’ label as I haven’t been connected to defence parties for 42 years. 

We are also given “Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has again made recognition of Israel conditional on it taking concrete steps to create a Palestinian State” I understand that setting, but I personally belief that this should be done after the eradication of Hamas. Saudi Arabia has been under attack through Iranian proxies for too long and as such the three terrorist organisations Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthi their eradication becomes a near essential. You want to doubt this? That’s fair but the essential setting becomes that Iran wants to stop the achievements of Neom (including Sindalah, the Line, Trojena, Oxagon and Magna). At some point One of these three parties will be added to the work roster of them and they will introduce small flaws, flaws that might not be noticed now, but in a year or two when things start to go wrong, the costs will enormous. An Iran will be quiet for a larger share of the table that is how it starts and Saudi Arabia is too far ahead now. If we want to protect the achievements of Saudi Arabia eradicating Hamas, Houthi and Hezbollah forces becomes the larger setting. All those weakhearted lefties will argue that these people are really sorry and should be forgiven. I say hell with that and eradicate them all. Or have you all forgotten how Saudi Arabia was on the verge of setting the larger stage to include Israel? Some will say that Hamas was brilliant and I say that this is the final straw setting the stage of eradication for these three puppets of Iran. And Iran knows that Israel is about to settle the attacks on the territory of Israel and that would escalate things even further. Now that will happen in two stages. In the first the attacks that Hezbollah will vie for and the threats from Iran takes it even further. The danger here is that Iran could ‘press’ Houthi forces further and that would force the hand of Saudi Arabia. In that stage China could proceed by handing Saudi Arabia a support setting of the Chengdu J-20 as well as the primary delivery of the speculated Xi’an H-20. I reckon that it is not completed yet, but they could hand 3 of these puppies to Saudi Arabia so that the Saudi Airforce could strike against the Houthi Forces. (I did say could, not will). Consider that these two planes would be readily sought by other Arabian nations (including Egypt, Jordan and Iraq) this is largely speculative, but it allows China to take more and more slices from American defence industries. And as this happens Iran needs to hide, because these choices would reduce the Houthi forces to next to nothing and at that point Iranian actions would fall flat and at that point Israel has options and Hamas should have none left. 

As such the Saudi war hammer will carve slices of Yemen to rubble. In all this there are two sides that matter. The first is that the west ignored that stages that China prepared for and now we see that Saudi Arabia has selected for “a more modest military cooperation agreement” with America, as scheduled the door opens for China to get more of towards America assigned spending. As I personally would speculate is that Saudi Arabia is now in a good place to negotiate and as Blinken seemingly trusted on “We can do this, if we can have….” We see that America endangered its position for defence spending. I believe that I am correct, but there are signs that it is based on a opinion piece. Not on reported facts.

What people need to realise is that this all started on October 7th 2023 when Hamas struck the Nova music festival massacre, overall 1,139 people were killed and 250 Israeli civilians and soldiers were taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip. That started this mess but the media is extremely willing to avoid certain matters. And now we see a larger setting Saudi Arabia is (as I personally see it) ready to find a new defence partner and spend billions with that new partner. 

So when some will call this a mild rain, consider that thought because those billions would have paid for the loans which could now fall short of payment for the next few years.

As such appeasement becomes deadening. America made a massive booboo as I see it. Have a fun day.

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October 23, 2024 · 06:14

The tightening belt

What I foresaw is now coming to pass in more than one way. ECNS China gives us ‘Saudi Arabia aims to attract up to 5 million Chinese tourists by 2030’ there was always a shift coming and as we see it, Saudi Arabia becomes more and more driven to see what the Chinese markets can deliver. We saw this last week in the Saudi Tourism Festival held in Beijing on Oct 17, 2024. We are given “Saudi Minister of Tourism and Chairman of the Saudi Tourism Authority Ahmed Al-Khateeb said that Saudi Arabia is China-ready and welcomes all Chinese travellers with increased connectivity, customised products and strategic partnerships.” Now some of you will respond with ‘so what?’ And that might be fair in one way. But this number represents a much larger issue. As I see it, one third is goal driven tourism. People will decide on Saudi Arabia as a destination for a job, or as a cheap tourism destination. Two third will go as tourist with optional goals, but these three million tourists will go to Saudi Arabia and not to their ‘normal’ destinations. That will show in diminished numbers all over Europe (France, England, Spain and Italy) and America. These people will also attract optional tourists who will change their initial destination. The other 2 million will optionally retrench their optional ‘cheap labor’ destination from Australia and places like the Netherlands, Belgium and the nordic countries. You will think that it does not matter, but consider all these coffee places that ‘allowed’ for these people, optionally in other areas too. They will come short of their usual numbers. These tourists also spend all they earn in that country. As such there will be a shift, an initial shift that seems small but could grow over time. These 5 million will spend their money somewhere else (in Saudi Arabia) and that facilitates to more, it always does. You might not think much of this, but the Saudi job market is booming. There are (allegedly) at present a little over 10,000 jobs outstanding. A fair deal are out reach of a lot of them, but consider this job “Digital Marketing Specialist. Average Salary: SAR 9,500-35,000 per month” and consider that they have the Beijing University of Technology and over a dozen more universities where these young crackers would like to see options in their first 2 years. They have just graduated University, they have spend almost every waking hour working on digital solutions like TikTok, broadcast experience and on the other hand we see places like Huawei making waves in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. These two places will see an increase of Chinese workers with an option to fulfil their dream a lot faster, so yes, Saudi Arabia will become a swing location for these people. All options that are shutting doors on Europe, Australia and America. 

We are also given “the country is preparing to launch its winter season tourism attractions, which will provide a range of experiences filled with entertainment, luxury, adventure and natural beauty, running from October to May”
Now consider that Oxagon, Trojena, Magna and Sindalah now suddenly will have a grasp of a thousand more affordable workers, bringing both a digitally active workforce as well as language skills to their regions. Yes, the cheaper groups will also infuse the wealth group from China to their shores because these people will encounter others with their language skills. As such the people who depend on these rich tourists will endure a lessened impact as they will all want to go to the newest places in Saudi Arabia. I reckon that in the 5,000,000 people will be at least 500,000 people who are beyond well-off and they will go to Saudi Arabia in the space of 2026-2028 (at least) and that is a kick to the heads of economy in the aforementioned countries. The top 1% of wealthy Chinese who are making over $80,000 are expected to spend that money in Saudi Arabia. And I am referring to the people who would have spend their cash in London, Paris and Orlando. Merely these three places will see a drop of income in the next few years. So how much more is needed? You might think that the small setting of “France is the most visited country within Europe, attracting an impressive 81,411,000 foreign sightseers each year”, but that would not be entirely correct. It includes all nations, including Europeans and a bunch of them will be attracted to Saudi luxury as well and consider that 1% is still 814,110, even if they merely lose 1%, that amounts to quite the drain on revenue and that is in part already heading towards Saudi Arabia. Already we are seeing messages on Free tourist visas, the one element that partially blocks choices is in the process of being removed. And all this is piling up against Europe and America. All whilst we were given ‘Tourism trips by residents of EU in 2023 up close to 6% y/y’ we ignore the drop that a mere 1% drop wouldn’t be much, but these tourists have beckoned billions in investments all over Europe and now I expect to see the Chinese drop as well as the ‘local’ tourists now dialling Saudi Arabia for their upcoming destination. Add to that whatever business bookings we see and you know these sales types, how they like to be known to go to new and luxurious destinations, the punch packing trips all over Saudi Arabia will be handing several body blows to Europe (America as well). We might merely see that the effort is on 5,000,000 Chinese tourists. But the overall impact will be a lot higher. That is the one part that everyone forgets about. The overly large population of tourists can only spend their money once or perhaps twice a year and the appeal of Saudi Arabia is overwhelming with at least three locations appealing to a lot of tourists. Add to this Riyadh and the impact of Saudi tourism will be felt in most of the tourist places of Europe and America. I reckon that if Disney and Universal sets a theme park in these places the damage will be near complete. Not a mere 2-3 years. But an impact over the next decade at least. Whatever we think of these parks in Orlando, they are overpacked and soon there will be an alternative of the same making. We see (at present) “With over 58 million annual tourist visits, Disney World averages approximately 159,000 visitors per day across all its parks” as well as “In 2023, 10 million tourists visited Islands of Adventure, a decrease of 9%” and consider that these two places could lose close to 15% more, people that have had enough of these massive queues and they want an alternative. Well Warner Brothers is already seeing an increasing populous enjoying Abu Dhabi and I reckon that these are all people contemplating Saudi Arabia as an optional destination.

Tourist destinations in Europe and America will see the need to tighten their belts. And this is not new. I floated the idea on September 27th 2023 in ‘As the belt tightens’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2023/09/27/as-the-belt-tightens/) so this is not news to me. I saw it coming a mile away (well, actually a year ago), and that is all before the glamour of Vision 2030 hits the tourists on the retina. I think I made my case 2 times over and the impact should be seen all over Europe in the time 2026-2028, after that? That depends how Saudi Arabia plays it cards. I made one other prediction (presumption) on what would be needed and that could put Europe and America in a bind, they either invest and make ready for 2025 or they might lose a lot more.

Have a great day and contemplate the view from the Aedas ski resort. Can America match that view? Now consider that Saudi Arabia could simultaneous hit 5-10 tourist attractions at the same time in 2026.

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September 6, 2024 · 13:48

As the situation changes

The Middle East Monitor made me rethink somethings that I gave the audience (read: you). In this article (at https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240905-saudi-issuing-licences-for-new-airlines/) we see ‘Saudi issuing licences for new airlines’ with the underlying text “A Saudi official said yesterday that the kingdom is working on issuing new licences for airlines to operate within the country. The statement was made by Abdulaziz Al-Duailej, president of the General Authority of Civil Aviation in Saudi Arabia, during his participation in the Egypt International Aviation and Space Exhibition in the Egyptian New Alamein City.” It is a setting that makes sense in a few ways. But as this setting ‘explodes’ the stages of tourism in Saudi Arabia, there is another side to consider. I raised it on the 25th of January 2024 in ‘Those happy dreams’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2024/01/25/those-happy-dreams/) there I have an image

You see, Saudi Arabia might be a little better off changing the service industry, or better stated the way it works. It might have made sense in older western days. Everyone wanted crumbs of the pie, but in this new stage a new system where we see one arrival and one departure, the NICE (an Israeli system) approach used in their cloud solution makes more sense and as such an Arabic designed system that has a cloud approach to tourism as well as a new ‘decentralised’ system might make a lot of sense. Consider that Saudi Arabia has the following settings either already there or coming soon. Trojena, Sindalah, Magna,  and Medina. After this we get the links with the UAE and Egypt. That is a multitude of hundreds of thousands of tourists. It will require a whole new way of doing business. Not the side of cashing in. It requires a new way of infrastructure, and Tourism is for the most replicating the same idea over and over again. It the past it made sense, in this setting it does not. They can all make claims that it is the way to do business. I disagree, this is how I saw the image in January. In the lower left the Arrival box and in the upper right the Departure box. In between there is nothing (at present), The setting is changing however. In stead of all replicating the same stage, have everyone access the same cloud, but with the difference that the customer is central in all this. The tourist will not have to register a multitude of ways, over and over again. They are in a cloud and everyone with the a booking for that tourist will have access to that tourist’s records and they can add their settings. 

In the end the tourist had to register mostly once, the rest will have the records and they can add their parts, a link in the record base with the reference to their own system where they can keep their records secure. There is still works that needs doing, but I had years in mind to evolve this antiquated system. Now as we see that “Saudi saw a surge in tourism in 2023, with around 27 million international visitors spending over 100 billion riyals, while domestic tourist numbers reached 77 million.” A new tourist recording stage made by Saudi’s and it is all in local hands. A new system that caters to the Arabians, and those who do not want it, will have to find another way to make money. As this setting gets developed we see that Saudi Arabia, the UAE and optionally Egypt get a new system with the tourist in the centre. In the second sight is that intelligent LLM models will be catering to the specific person, the data will be more up to date and more to the point of the tourist. I foresee that this new system will break borders in many ways and whilst some will sell an ‘AI’ system for the tourist, whilst merely braking even for the caterer in that system. This system will actually have one tourist in mind. The one it is catering too. I came to that conclusion over 6 months ago. Now that the borders are moved to include millions more tourists, this system will be clearly superior as it caters to that person, or that family in a stage that it aligns all new places. 

As I see the article in the Middle East Eye, the situation I drew came up again. A setting that is drawn from the tourist, not the hotel or flight event. There are still hurdles. Like how can this system align with other systems? My question becomes ‘How can we make things easier for the tourist?’ You see, in the next 10 years we can either address this or se the tourist go the path of comfort and that is where this approach can make a change for thousands of tourists. The centre piece in this is that the tourist is on a vacation, they want comfort and that can be approached by giving them a different ride towards their initial destination and beyond.

You see, the larger tourist group wants a unique view on their entire trip and Saudi Arabia (as well as the UAE) are delivering it to a lager degree. Now it is time to set the stage to a complete overhaul and 2030 is a mere 8 years away. If Saudi Arabia gets to have the other venues as well (Olympics to name but one) it will have to consider this larger change now or face near inhumane pressure points on several occasions. You can address the venue on its own or cater to a system that can reduce pressures all over. It would also call in a national call centre that takes care of all venues from a few points. I see opportunities all over, but I realise that there would be initial design flaws (from my side). It becomes a larger issue when some will see reason to drown this idea as they see a failing revenue point for them. In this I call to a place like Ticketmaster. How hard was their start until venues started to trust their setting? It could be a genuine opportunity for Saudi Arabia to guide and light the way to countries like the China, UAE, Egypt and Indonesia. And when more countries align to that setting the tourist industry gets a real overhaul optionally gaining more and more countries to that way of thinking.

Have a great day.

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June 9, 2024 · 22:58

The unspoken call

There was a call in Reuters last week. I had seen it, however I was dealing with the intelligence I was able to lay my hands on. It seems like a simple exercise but it is not. The article (at https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-experts-urge-all-countries-recognise-palestinian-statehood-2024-06-03/) gives us ‘UN experts urge all countries to recognise Palestinian statehood’, it seems so simple. Yet it is more complex than you think. You see that setting might be acceptable AFTER Hamas has been eradicated and the west knows this. You see Hamas is a one trick pony, it resorts to violence only ad at present it does so through Iranian guidance. If Palestinian statehood is awarded whilst Hamas is still in charge, all bet are off. The west knows this and they don’t like the centrepiece of Arabian stability. There is Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). That one trick pony (Hamas) will come with its new rule. A bigger seat at the Arabian table. When they do not get it Saudi Projects will suffer. The Line, Oxagon, Trojena, Sindalah, Red Sea International Airport, Mukaab, Qiddiya and a few more will subtly be suffering set backs, optional outright sabotage. That would cost Saudi Arabia billions. In addition UAE locations like Dubai and Abu Dhabi will be hit. It will not be some case of speculation, Iran does not like the path Arabia is on. It does not allow any path where they are an inferior setting. And they now have their claws in Hamas and Houthi forces. 

As such Hamas needs to be eradicated. It is simplest if Israel does it. It could do with the win and Saudi hands will remain clean. When Saudi Arabia and the UAE are forced to act the result will be destabilisation for years to come. All what Saudi Arabia had achieved will be for naught. The UAE will likely get a hit on tourism and travel, but there too the impact will be felt. The west likes this. They are trying to rally against China and the Arabian players are part of Brics now, catering options for China. All options are largely lost to the west. So they are now calling to include Palestine into everything. A call that is too rash for words. 

We can think all we can on Palestine, but they let Hamas in and did not do anything about Hamas for 2 decades. Hamas is under their buildings, part of their infrastructure and they have grown the next generation of Palestines to be terrorists too. The west did little to nothing, they figured that Israel would deal with that problem. Now that Israel is, the anti semitic rhetoric is taking global proportions. And the media was quiet for too long on the 120 hostages and they trivialised matters. So now that the gloves come off there will be another setting. If Israel succeeds in eradicating Hamas, statehood for Palestine could follow, yet with a few clauses. Any new Hamas interference will result in economic sanctions. In support of this other economic means will be required. Also Egypt will have to show it hands and allow Palestinians through. You know, I do not think this will happen. Egypt had identified the threat that Hamas and Palestine sets. Why do you think that they put a wall there? No one is questioning that part. It is all about Israel. 

If Israel does not succeed and statehood is awarded to Palestine, Saudi and UAE intelligence will have to beef up operations. Saudi will have a lot more riding on this and whilst there are upsides for Saudi Arabia, the risks are a lot higher. In the mean time Hamas leadership is still comfortable in Qatar and Iran has lines out to them. I wonder what will come to a close first. Israeli patience, of Saudi patience after statehood is awarded. 

In the end part of this is speculation, but the premise is sound and when Iran flexes its financial muscles towards Palestine, Saudi interests in Saudi Arabia will come under pressure, and it will resolved by giving a bigger seat to Hamas, the Iranian tool. A setting that we must avoid, the west especially. The west might no longer be a global strong power, but when chaos hit the Arabian peninsula, only the greed driven parties will see it as a plus point. The rest will suffer the consequences. And in this the media will shrug it off saying they merely reported on it. But the media will be every bit as guilty as anyone else. Even more so as they decided to not inform the public and filter events to what their stakeholders share holders and advertisers required. But the media will not report on that. I wonder why. 

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