A report issued by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) revealed that the number of visitors coming to the Kingdom increased by 64 percent during the first quarter of 2023, compared to the same period in 2019.
Experts told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Kingdom was able to place itself on the world tourism map, and is witnessing great leaps in international indicators after facilitating all procedures related to the entry of visitors through electronic visas, which contributed to doubling the number of tourists coming to the country.
According to the report, Saudi Arabia ranked 13th globally, advancing by 12 places on the World Tourism Organization (WTO) index, as one of the top countries receiving international tourists in 2022, compared to the 25th place in 2019.
The Kingdom received about 7.8 million tourists for all purposes during the first quarter of this year, which represents the highest quarterly performance in history, achieving a growth of 64 percent. Thus, the country ranked second among the fastest growing tourism destinations during this period, according to recent data received by the organization.
The Kingdom also advanced 16 places in the international tourism revenue index, achieving the 11th place in 2022, compared to 27th place in 2019 globally.
Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khatib said that this achievement was an addition to the other successes of the Kingdom in various fields and as a “culmination of the directives of the wise leadership -- represented by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince -- to continue enhancing the Kingdom’s position on the global tourism map, and raising its contribution to the gross domestic product under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.”
He added that facilitating travel visa procedures, planning promotional campaigns in the target countries, and diversifying tourism destinations in the Kingdom were among the factors behind these achievements.
Al-Khatib stressed that the ministry will maintain its efforts, in cooperation with all partners from the public and private sectors, in order to move forward in realizing the government’s aspirations to make the Kingdom a global tourism destination.
Nayef Al-Rajhi, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce in Riyadh and Chairman of the National Tourism Committee in the Federation of Saudi Chambers, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Saudi tourism was witnessing a quantum leap.
He added that the Kingdom’s progress in international tourism indicators reflected positively on the country and stimulated efforts to strengthen and develop the tourism sector to provide a unique experience for all visitors.
A bulletin issued by the Saudi Ministry of Investment indicated that spending by international tourists in the Kingdom jumped to 27 billion riyals ($7.2 billion) in the first half of 2022, following an increase in the number of visitors by a total of 46 million tourists.
Saudi Arabia has focused on diversifying its economy and developing new tourism activities and destinations, which represented a fundamental pillar of the country’s Vision 2030 which seeks to raise the sector’s contribution to the GDP to 10 percent and to receive 100 million visitors annually by 2030.
