With 7.8 million visitors, the desert kingdom reported an increase of 64 pc compared to the same period in 2019
The tourism industry in Saudi Arabia has reported its best-ever first quarter as the country received a record number of tourists, over 7.8 million, and tourism receipts rose by more than 300 pc to USD 9.86 billion in Q1, 2023.
According to a press statement, published by state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA), spending by foreign tourists in the country rose 225 pc compared to the first quarter of 2022.
With 7.8 million visitors, the desert kingdom reported an increase of 64 pc compared to the same period, before the pandemic, in 2019. SPA adds that the increase in revenue led the kingdom to post a surplus in the balance of payments for the tourism sector in the first quarter, amounting to USD 6.08 billion, compared with a deficit of USD 430 million in the same period last year.
The statement adds that this follows the Ministry of Tourism’s efforts to boost the tourism sector and its contribution to the growth of the national economy, which corresponds to the objectives of the National Tourism Development Strategy, that has set goals including attracting 100 million new visits, a contribution of 10 pc to the Gross Domestic Product by the tourism sector and 1 million new jobs in the sector by 2030.
Saudi Arabia emerged as the second-fastest growing tourism destination during the first quarter of 2023, according to the World Tourism Organisation’s data issued in May. The country’s travel and tourism sector will grow at an average 11 pc annually over the next decade, making it the Middle East’s fastest-growing market, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
By 2032, the sector’s contribution to Saudi Arabia’s GDP could reach nearly USD 170 billion, representing 17.1 pc of the kingdom’s total economy, it said in a July 2022 report. In 2022, Saudi Arabia had more than 93.5 million tourists, 77 million domestic and 16.5 million international visitors.
