Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector witnessed a notable expansion in 2023 with 8.6 million tourists from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries injecting over SAR15 billion ($4 billion) into the economy, according to the Ministry of Tourism‘s latest annual statistics report.
The report reveals that Bahrain was Saudi Arabia’s top source market, with 3.4 million tourists, followed by Egypt and Pakistan with 2.6 and 2.5 million, respectively.
As for other GCC states, the other top four source markets included Kuwait with 2.3 million, the UAE with 1.4 million, Qatar with 1.1 million, and Oman with 455,000 visitors.
Main source markets
Tourists from Asia and the Pacific region reached 7.9 million while tourists from the Middle East to Saudi Arabia reached 5.6 million. Tourists from Europe amounted to 2.7 million while tourists from Africa hit two million in 2023. Saudi Arabia also welcomed 470,000 tourists from the Americas.
The United States was the primary source of inbound tourists from the Americas with 331,000 tourists, whereas Algeria was the primary source in Africa with 523,000 tourists. In the Middle East, Egypt was the primary source, bringing in 2.6 million tourists, while Türkiye was the predominant European source with 680,000 Inbound tourists in 2023.
Inbound tourists hit record-high
The total number of inbound tourists reached 27.4 million tourists in 2023, setting a new record high for Saudi Arabia. Inbound tourism in 2023 saw a 65 percent annual increase in the number of tourists and a 44 percent annual increase in spending. The number of inbound tourists reached its peak in December 2023 with 2.9 million tourists. The report attributes this surge to Saudi Arabia’s effective marketing campaigns and e-visa expansions in 2023.
The number of inbound non-religious tourists to Saudi Arabia also saw an increase of 108 percent compared to 2019, with the share of non-religious purposes increasing from 44 percent in 2019 to 58 percent in 2023, constituting more than half of all inbound trips.
Read: Qatar’s tourism sector booms with visitor numbers up 28 percent in H1 2024
Domestic tourism sees remarkable growth
The number of domestic tourists has grown rapidly since 2018, with 2023 recording the highest number of domestic visitors historically. The number of domestic tourists in Saudi Arabia rose 5.2 percent to 81.9 million.
Domestic tourism spending also achieved a record high in 2023 with a remarkable increase of 138 percent in spending compared to 2018. In 2023, domestic spending reached SAR114.4 billion in Saudi Arabia, up 6.7 percent compared to 2022.
June experienced the highest number of domestic tourists, reaching its peak with 9.5 million tourists. The report attributes this increase to the summer season, the end of the school year, and Eid Al Adha vacations, with 12 percent of all domestic tourism trips in 2023 occurring within this month.
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