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Saudi Arabia Record Highest Int’l Tourism Growth among G20 Countries in First 7 Months of 2024

Saudi Arabia Record Highest Int’l Tourism Growth among G20 Countries in First 7 Months of 2024
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Saudi Arabia Record Highest Int’l Tourism Growth among G20 Countries in First 7 Months of 2024

Saudi Arabia Record Highest Int’l Tourism Growth among G20 Countries in First 7 Months of 2024

Saudi Arabia has once again registered the highest growth in international tourism figures in the first seven months of this year among the G20 countries, according to the latest data from the United Nations Tourism Organization.

Compared to the same period in 2019, the Kingdom recorded a remarkable 73% increase in the number of international tourists and a 207% growth of international tourism revenues, the organization's September 2024 World Tourism Barometer report showed.

Saudi Arabia welcomed around 17.5 million international tourists during this period, which points to a significant increase in its global tourism appeal. In 2023, the Kingdom had 27.4 million visitors, registering a 56% growth in the number of international tourists compared to 2019.

This positioned Saudi Arabia at the top of the UN list recording tourism growth among major tourist destinations in 2023. Moreover, the travel item’s surplus recorded a historic SAR48 billion in 2023, reflecting a 38% year-on-year increase.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its 2024 Article IV Consultation report in September, commended the unprecedented achievements of Saudi Arabia's tourism sector, as part of Saudi Vision 2030.

The IMF particularly noted the sector's role in the drive to diversify the Kingdom's economic base, especially in the services sector where tourism has emerged as a key driver of growth. The sector has led in visitor numbers, spending, job creation, and contribution to the GDP.

These achievements underscore the Kingdom's growing status as a premier global tourism destination, with the continuous rise in tourist numbers reflecting confidence in the country's diverse and attractive tourism offerings.

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US Treasury Targets Russia's Gazprombank with New Sanctions

FILE PHOTO: A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
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US Treasury Targets Russia's Gazprombank with New Sanctions

FILE PHOTO: A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

The United States imposed new sanctions on Russia's Gazprombank on Thursday, the Treasury Department said, as President Joe Biden steps up actions to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine before he leaves office in January.
The move, which wields the department's most powerful sanctions tool, effectively kicks Gazprombank out of the US banking system, bans its trade with Americans and freezes its US assets, Reuters reported.
Gazprombank is one of Russia's largest banks and is partially owned by Kremlin-owned gas company Gazprom. Since Russia's invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has been urging the US to impose more sanctions on the bank, which receives payments for natural gas from Gazprom's customers in Europe.
The fresh sanctions come days after the Biden administration allowed Kyiv to use US ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory. On Tuesday, Ukraine fired the weapons, the longest range missiles Washington has supplied for such attacks on Russia, on the war's 1,000th day.
The Treasury also imposed sanctions on 50 small-to-medium Russian banks to curtail the country's connections to the international financial system and prevent it from abusing it to pay for technology and equipment needed for the war. It warned that foreign financial institutions that maintain correspondent relationships with the targeted banks "entails significant sanctions risk."
"This sweeping action will make it harder for the Kremlin to evade US sanctions and fund and equip its military," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. "We will continue to take decisive steps against any financial channels Russia uses to support its illegal and unprovoked war in Ukraine."
Gazprombank said Washington's latest move would not affect its operations. The Russian embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.
Along with the sanctions, Treasury also issued two new general licenses authorizing US entities to wind down transactions involving Gazprombank, among other financial institutions, and to take steps to divest from debt or equity issued by Gazprombank.
Gazprombank is a conduit for Russia to purchase military materiel in its war against Ukraine, the Treasury said. The Russian government also uses the bank to pay its soldiers, including for combat bonuses, and to compensate the families of its soldiers killed in the war.
The administration believes the new sanctions improve Ukraine's position on the battlefield and ability to achieve a just peace, a source familiar with the matter said.
COLLATERAL IMPACT
While Gazprombank has been on the administration's radar for years, it has been seen as a last resort because of its focus on energy and the desire to avoid collateral impact on Europe, a Washington-based trade lawyer said.
"I think that the current administration is trying to put as much pressure and add as many sanctions as possible prior to January 20th to make it harder for the next administration to unwind," said the lawyer, Douglas Jacobson.
Officials in Slovakia and Hungary said they were studying the impacts of the new US sanctions.
Trump would have the power to remove the sanctions, which were imposed under an executive order by Biden, if he wants to take a different stance, Jacobson said.
After Russia's invasion in 2022, the Treasury placed debt and equity restrictions on 13 Russian firms, including Gazprombank, Sberbank and the Russian Agricultural Bank.
The US Treasury has also worked to provide Ukraine with funds from windfall proceeds of frozen Russian assets.