Future Investment Initiative. A car held all day, so you leave the moment each meeting ends.
Monday 26 to Thursday 29 October 2026 at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center. We plan the airport, the conference runs and the side meetings across the city as one diary.
The conference
FII 2026 at a glance
- DatesMonday 26 to Thursday 29 October 2026The tenth edition, on the theme The Power of Legacy. Four days rather than the usual three.
- WhereKing Abdulaziz International Conference CenterWestern Riyadh, alongside the Ritz-Carlton, which has hosted the conference since it began in 2017.
- AirportKing Khalid International (RUH)About 35 km north of the city, with a general aviation terminal on the field for private arrivals.
- Around the weekSide meetings across the cityKAFD, the Diplomatic Quarter and the hotel suites carry as much of the week as the main stage does.
Dates, theme and venue as published by the FII Institute. We review this page each year.
The shape of the week
The conference is fixed. Everything else moves
The main programme runs inside one building, so the journey that matters most is the one you make twice a day between your hotel and the conference centre. What fills the rest of the diary is the side programme: bilateral meetings in hotel suites, dinners in the Diplomatic Quarter, breakfasts at KAFD, and the occasional summons that moves a whole morning by an hour.
Riyadh is a large, spread out city built for the car, and its main arteries carry heavy traffic at the start and end of the working day. Distances that look short on a map take longer than visitors expect, and the week adds its own security measures and access controls around the conference site. A car held for the day is worth far more here than a string of separate transfers, because the value is in being able to leave the moment a meeting ends.
Our own cars and chauffeurs are in London and Manchester, and a trusted global network covers everywhere else. In Riyadh the cars are arranged through operators we know, with drivers who work this week each October, and you keep one contact in the United Kingdom across the flight, the handling and the ground.
Journey times
Around Riyadh in conference week
| Journey | Quiet hours | Conference week peak |
|---|---|---|
| King Khalid Airport to the conference centre | 35 to 50 minutes | Allow an hour or more |
| King Khalid Airport to KAFD | 30 to 45 minutes | Allow 45 to 75 minutes |
| Conference centre to KAFD | 20 to 30 minutes | Allow 30 to 50 minutes |
| Conference centre to the Diplomatic Quarter | 15 to 25 minutes | Allow 25 to 40 minutes |
| Hotel to conference centre, morning session | 10 to 25 minutes | Leave a clear 30 minutes before you need to be seated |
Planning guidance, not promises. Security arrangements around the venue change the approach roads from year to year.
What clients usually book
A car and chauffeur held for the day
- One car for the full day, positioned near the conference centre between sessions rather than released and recalled
- Several cars for a delegation, moving together to dinners and bilaterals
- Collection at the general aviation terminal at King Khalid, joined to the aircraft's arrival time
- A chauffeur who speaks English and Arabic and knows the access points around the venue
- Late cars for the dinners, which run well past the conference programme
- An onward leg to Jeddah, Abu Dhabi, Doha or Dubai at the end of the week
Arriving
Slots, handling and the paperwork
King Khalid International sits about 35 km north of the centre, with a general aviation area used by several handling companies. In the days either side of the conference it becomes extremely busy, and parking for aircraft is often the constraint rather than the flight itself. If you are flying privately, arrange the slot and the handling early and expect to be told where the aircraft may sit between movements. We arrange the aircraft, and we will be straight with you about what the week's availability looks like.
Entry requirements for Saudi Arabia have changed repeatedly in recent years and depend on your nationality and the purpose of your visit. Check the current rules with the Saudi authorities or your own advisers well before you travel: this is the single most common cause of a late change to an itinerary for this week. We will hold the ground arrangements while that is sorted out.
Riyadh now has a metro, opened across 2024 and 2025, with a line linking the airport to the King Abdullah Financial District. It is useful to know about, though almost nobody attending the conference will use it with a diary this tight.
Book early
Riyadh fills for this week
Hotels near the conference centre are taken months ahead, aircraft parking is limited and cars go with the rooms. Tell us your dates as soon as your attendance is confirmed and we will hold what you need.
Around the region
Related pages
Arriving by air
Request a quote
Tell us your dates and hotel
Your dates, how many of you are travelling, where you are staying and whether you are arriving privately or on a scheduled flight. We reply with a plan for the week and a clear price. Nothing is booked or charged online.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
About FII travel
Can the car wait at the conference centre between sessions?
It waits as close as the week's security arrangements allow, and comes to an agreed point when you call. We confirm the exact spot with the local team on the first morning.
Can you arrange the flight as well?
Yes. We arrange private charter to Riyadh and coordinate the handling at the general aviation terminal, so the car is timed to the aircraft rather than to the schedule.
Do you arrange visas?
No. Entry requirements depend on your nationality and change often, so check them with the Saudi authorities or your own advisers. We hold the ground arrangements while that is done.
Can we add Jeddah, Doha or Dubai at the end of the week?
Yes, and many clients do. We plan the onward legs and the cars at each end under one booking.
Are you an official partner of the FII Institute?
No. We are an independent company arranging transport for people attending the conference.
We deal with problems before you know they exist