Saudi Arabia witnessed remarkable growth in the tourism sector during 2024, reflecting the success of efforts to achieve Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the economy and strengthen the Kingdom’s position as a global tourist destination.
As the year draws to a close, the “Leaders MENA” website is keen to highlight the most significant achievements made in tourism sector during 2024 and work on developing ambitious plans that support aspirations for the coming year, in alignment with Saudi Vision 2030.
Growth in the Number of Tourists
Saudi Arabia welcomed 17.5 million international tourists from January to the end of July 2024, marking a 10% increase compared to the same period in the previous year and a 73% rise compared to the corresponding period in 2019.
The Ministry of Tourism, in conjunction with World Tourism Day, clarified that the number of international tourists arriving for leisure and holidays during the first seven months of this year reached 4.2 million, reflecting a 25% growth compared to the same period in 2023 and a staggering 656% increase compared to the corresponding period in 2019.
The leaps witnessed in Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the strategies and plans approved to build a sustainable tourism sector in line with Saudi Vision 2030. Saudi Arabia has already achieved its goal of reaching 100 million tourists in 2023—seven years ahead of schedule.
Saudi Arabia has successfully strengthened its position as a global tourist destination. It topped the United Nations list for the growth rate of international tourists in 2023, leading the G20 countries in both international tourist growth rates and international tourism revenue growth rates, according to the latest UN Tourism Barometer report published in September 2024.
11th Globally in Attracting International Tourists
Saudi Arabia managed to welcome 60 million visitors during the first half of the current year, with spending reaching approximately 150 billion riyals, and recorded about a 10% growth in both the number of tourists and spending.
This was revealed by Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb during a press conference held in Abha (southern Saudi Arabia) to discuss the major achievements of the tourism sector in the Kingdom. He highlighted that “Vision 2030” was launched to maximize the economic and social value of many sectors. Plans were developed to ensure the Kingdom attains its fair share in this vital sector. He explained that previously, the tourism system contributed 3% of the Saudi economy’s GDP.
He further added that by the end of the first half of this year, the sector’s contribution to GDP reached 5%. The tourism sector is steadily progressing toward achieving 10%, equivalent to 600 to 700 billion riyals of tourism revenue within the Saudi economy.
National Tourism Strategy
Al-Khateeb stated: “We launched the National Tourism Strategy in 2019, and within a month, we launched the tourist visa, which opened Saudi Arabia’s doors to visitors from various countries around the world, allowing them to explore the Kingdom, which is like a continent, with historical sites listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List and diverse, promising tourist destinations.”
The Saudi minister continued: “We promised to train 100,000 young men and women every year, with an estimated cost of about 500 million riyals. For the past three years, these numbers have been sent to the most important international institutes.”
He also mentioned that by the end of last year, Saudi Arabia had received more than 100 million local and international tourists; 77 million being local and 27 million from abroad, noting that efforts are being made to encourage tourists to spend more time in the country.
Al-Khateeb added that Saudi Arabia is now ranked 11th in the world in terms of receiving foreign tourists, and it is the fastest-growing country among the G20 nations, which confirms the effectiveness of the plans and their implementation.
He pointed out that previously, visitors coming from abroad for religious purposes accounted for 80%, but this has decreased to 50%, with the remaining percentage allocated to other purposes such as tourism, entertainment, visiting historical sites, sports events, and more.
The minister revealed that the country has achieved a 153% growth in the sector compared to 2019. Spending reached 255 billion riyals by the end of 2023, accounting for 4.4% of the total GDP of the economy.
Development of Tourism Human Capacities
The importance of developing tourism human capacities is highlighted by the Kingdom’s allocation of an exceptional budget to train and qualify Saudi men and women both within the Kingdom and abroad. This initiative is in collaboration with leading educational and training institutions in Switzerland, the UK, and Spain to ensure that national staff can provide high-quality tourism services.
Since 2019, the Ministry has aimed to train 500,000 young Saudis. Over 100,000 young men and women were trained through various programs in 2023, including the “Tourism Pioneers 2” program. Additionally, nearly 1,500 young Saudis received training abroad during the past year at prestigious international universities and institutes.
The number of jobs in the tourism sector in the Kingdom surpassed 925,000 in 2023. The localization rate in the tourism sector reached 26% in 2023, while the localization rate in the hospitality sector was 38%, and in travel agencies, it reached 36%. Furthermore, the total number of employees in the tourism sector was 380,000 in 2023, with 46% of them being Saudi women. The average salary for Saudi employees in the tourism sector exceeded 6,400 riyals in 2023.
Regarding the impact of the e-visa on increasing the number of tourists from outside Saudi Arabia, the Minister of Tourism said: “We began in 2019 applying the e-visa to 44 carefully selected countries around the world. After receiving significant requests from other countries, it expanded to 66 countries, making the Kingdom one of the fastest countries in the world to obtain a visa.”
World Tourism Organization
In March 2024, Saudi Arabia attracted approximately 13 billion dollars in private sector investments in the tourism industry, as the Kingdom aims to share the costs of its spending plan to become a new travel hub. On March 30, 2024, data from the Saudi Central Bank revealed that the Kingdom had achieved a historic record in spending by international visitors in 2023, reaching 135 billion riyals, marking a growth rate of 42.8% compared to 2022.
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