Tourism to Saudi Arabia grew substantially in the second quarter of 2022, with the Kingdom seeing a 575.4 percent year-on-year increase in inbound tourists to the Kingdom, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment (MISA) said.
3.6 million visitors traveled to Saudi Arabia from April – June, according to figures released by the MISA. The number of domestic tourists in Saudi also climbed by 42.3 percent to hit 21.4 million.
Inbound tourism spending soared in tandem with the number of visitors, according to the data, which was released in the monthly bulletin of MISA. Inbound tourist spending rose by 570 percent in the second quarter to SR15.7 billion ($4.18 billion), while domestic tourist spending increased by 31.5 percent to SR22.7 billion during the same period.
The increase of tourists comes after a slower timeframe as the world was beginning its recovery from the global pandemic in 2021. Although Saudi Arabia was well-positioned to welcome tourists, international travel had not made a full comeback for visitors as COVID vaccines were rolled out across the world and restrictions began to lift.
Still, the figures are good news for the Kingdom’s National Tourism Strategy, which has set the lofty goal of attracting 100 million tourists by the end of this decade, in line with the goals outlined in Vision 2030.
As Arab News notes, the Kingdom advanced 10 positions to rank 33 in the latest travel and tourism development index. In November, during the World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit, Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb said the Kingdom is offering investment opportunities worth $6 trillion in the travel and tourism sector through to 2030.
He also added that Saudi Arabia is evolving both as a rapidly developing destination and as a global partner which is driving change across the travel and tourism sector.
The Kingdom hopes to continue to see gains in the tourism sector and advance its reputation as conveniently accessible from Europe, Africa, and Asia.
