Indonesia becomes first foreign country to own real estate in Saudi Arabia, acquires Novotel hotel near Mecca

【JAKARTA, Indonesia — Aulia Maulida Hamdani, correspondent】Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund Danantara acquired a hotel and nearby land for development in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Islam’s holiest city, for about 9.5 trillion rupiah (about 700 billion won), as it moves to expand lodging infrastructure for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims. Indonesia became the first foreign country to own real estate in Mecca after Saudi Arabia allowed foreign ownership of property in January this year.
According to local media reports on the 23rd, Thakher Development handed Danantara documents related to ownership of the four-star Novotel Thakher Makkah hotel in Mecca’s Thakher district and nearby land. The hotel has 1,461 rooms, and the surrounding land comprises 14 plots covering a total of 4.4 hectares. The hotel has restaurants, a fitness center and meeting facilities, and is about 2.5 kilometers from Masjid al-Haram, an Islamic holy site.
\ \ This investment is part of a long-term strategy to expand accommodation and support services for Indonesian pilgrims and reduce reliance on seasonal lodging rentals during the Hajj period. Indonesia has the world’s largest Hajj quota, with a regular quota of 203,320 pilgrims in 2026, and around 1.5 million people take part in Umrah each year. The hotel is expected to accommodate about 4,400 people during the Hajj period.
Under Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia aims to accommodate 30 million Umrah pilgrims annually by 2030. As a result, expanding pilgrimage infrastructure, including accommodation, and attracting foreign investment are becoming increasingly important.
Danantara CEO Rosan Roeslani said, “This deal is a concrete step toward building a long-term hotel investment platform in Saudi Arabia.”

[email protected] Aulia Maulida Hamdani, correspondent Reporter