The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) recent report on the Saudi economy reflected a Saudi tourism landscape that is getting broader and deeper
In 2023 Saudi Arabia reported 109 million visitors which surpassed its Vision 2030 target of 100 million visitors. The Kingdom’s tourism target has been raised to 150 million annual tourists by 2030.
Domestic tourists accounted for 74.9% of visits last year, or 81.9 million people. International travelers accounted for 27.4 million visits.
Josh Corder writing for Skift notes that the Saudi Tourism Authority distinguishes between domestic and foreign tourists in part by tracking mobile phone signals to see when people cross land borders in the country.
According to the IMF report, “The surge of visitors has been mostly domestic-driven while the surge in visitors’ spending was mostly inbound-driven (i.e., international arrivals).” Noting that international tourists spent $37.6 billion in 2023 compared to $30.5 billion by domestic travelers.
Corder reports that World & Travel Council data indicate that Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector’s overall contribution to GDP in 2023 was 11.5% and is forecast to increase to 16% by 2034 Adding that the goal is to have 70 million foreign tourists by 2030.
Religious tourism remains the primary purpose for international visitors accounting for about 11.5 million of the 27.4 international visits last year. Visiting friends and family accounted for 6.2 million and leisure accounted for 6.25 million visitors.
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