International tourism spending in Saudi Arabia rises 15 spots to 12th place, according to the UN Tourism

JEDDAH: The new UN Tourism report says that Saudi Arabia has made a huge jump, moving up 15 spots to 12th place in the world in terms of how much money tourists spend in 2023. This country has seen the biggest jump among the top 50.

After a report from the UN in September, the ranking showed that the Kingdom was the best among the G20 countries, with a huge 207 percent rise in international tourism receipts and a 73 percent rise in international visitor growth from January to July 2024 compared to the same time in 2019.

These accomplishments strengthen Saudi Arabia’s position as a top tourist location around the world, showing that travelers are becoming more confident in the Kingdom’s wide range of appealing attractions. To take advantage of this trend, the tourism industry has raised its goal for 2030 from 100 million to 150 million visitors. Mahmoud Abdulhadi, the deputy minister of destination enablement at the Ministry of Tourism, believes that the number of visitors could increase even further if they meet this goal early.

Abdulhadi stated last week at the Future Hospitality Summit in Riyadh that the company constantly reviews and adjusts its goals based on its performance.

The UNWTO called the Kingdom’s success in tourism a “significant milestone” on its way to becoming a world leader in the field. According to the study, spending on tourism went over $37 billion in 2023, and hotel rooms across the country grew by a large amount.

About 17.5 million people from other countries came to Saudi Arabia in the first seven months of 2024. In 2023, 27.4 million people visited the Kingdom, which is 56% more than in 2019. Because of this rise, the UN has put Saudi Arabia at the top of its list of hot spots for tourist growth.

Also, the Kingdom’s tourism balance hit a new high of SR48 billion ($12.8 billion) in 2023, up 38% year-over-year.

In its 2024 Article IV Consultation report, which came out in September, the International Monetary Fund praised the tourist industry in Saudi Arabia for making outstanding strides under the Saudi Vision 2030 plan. The IMF stressed how important the sector is for diversifying the Kingdom’s economy, especially in the services sector, where it has become a major growth driver in terms of visitors, spending, job creation, and GDP addition.

The most recent UNWTO Barometer report says that from January to July 2024, the number of international tourists returned to 96 percent of pre-pandemic values, equal to about 790 million. This is an increase of 11 percent compared to the same time in 2023. The UNWTO also said that the Middle East had the most growth around the world, with a 26 percent rise in foreign arrivals from 2019 to 2020.