Saudi Arabia achieved a 73 per cent increase in the number of international tourists arrivals, while international tourism revenues increased by 207 per cent, according to the World Tourism Barometer by UN Tourism.

According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the Kingdom continued to top the list of G20 countries in the indicators of the growth rate of the number of international tourists and the growth rate of international tourism revenues according to the latest available data for the first seven months of 2024 compared to the similar period of 2019.

The Kingdom’s various tourist destinations have witnessed a significant rise in international tourist numbers this year, with the number of tourist arrivals reaching 17.5 million.

The Kingdom achieved a 56 per cent growth in the number of international tourists in 2023 compared to 2019, with the number of tourists reaching 27.4 million. This placed the country at the top of the UN Tourism Data Dashboard in the index of the growth rate of international tourists for major tourist destinations in 2023.

Additionally, the travel account in the balance of payments recorded a historic surplus of 48 billion riyals in 2023, marking an annual increase of 38 per cent. In August, the Saudi Ministry of Tourism announced that in 2023 inbound tourists spent over SAR141 billion in the Kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency reported. According to the ministry’s 2023 annual tourism statistics report, the largest chunk of this, over SAR45 billion, was spent on accommodation, over SAR25.5 billion on shopping, and about SAR21.5 billion on local transportation.

WAM