Tourism minister Ahmed bin Aqeel Al Khateeb recently revealed Saudi Arabia’s latest tourism figures — key numbers for the Kingdom as it looks to diversify its economy in part by attracting visitors to the Kingdom.
The data revealed that while domestic tourism remained flat from 2022, international visits to the Kingdom soared.
According to the Minister, Saudi Arabia saw 77 million domestic tourists and 27 million international ones, totaling 104 million visits.
77 million is the same number of domestic tourists Saudi had in 2022. However, the overall figure was boosted by 11 million international visitors.
Al Khateeb highlighted a new strategy set by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman to attract 150 million tourists by 2030, with 80 million domestic and 70 million international tourists.
Total spending reached SAR100 billion ($26.67 billion) last year.
According to the website Skift, Saudi Arabia doesn’t say exactly ‘how’ a domestic tourist can be measured. The ministry’s website defines a domestic tourist as: “The activities of a resident visitor within the country of reference, either as part of a domestic tourism trip or part of an outbound tourism trip.”
