Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (ots/PRNewswire) – Saudi Arabia has received international recognition and acclaim from UN Tourism and the World Travel & Tourism Council for its remarkable achievement of welcoming over 100 million tourists in 2023. This significantly exceeded the target set for 2030 and positioned Saudi Arabia as an emerging global tourism power.
The Ministry of Tourism announced that the kingdom reached this milestone seven years ahead of the original target, according to the latest data. Motivated by this success, the kingdom has now set itself the ambitious goal of welcoming 150 million tourists by 2030.
Tourism has proven to be an important factor in the country’s economy: in 2023, domestic and foreign tourists will spend over 250 billion riyals. This spending accounts for over 4% of GDP and 7% of non-oil GDP, reflecting the crucial role of tourism in diversifying the Saudi economy.
HE Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb, commented: “This announcement shows the scale of the changes we have made since the launch of the National Tourism Strategy five years ago. Tourism is an important pillar of the country’s economic transformation under Vision 2030, generating jobs and revenue for the Kingdom. We thank both UN Tourism and WTTC as valued partners in our journey for their shared commitment to a sustainable and thriving tourism sector.”
“The tourism ecosystem continues to work in line with the national tourism strategy by developing various destinations. Our aim is to enrich tourists’ experiences, expand offerings for domestic and international visitors and improve hospitality and other services. We strive to align ourselves with world-class international experiences and practices. This approach will help shape a prosperous future for our tourism industry, improve the quality of life and strengthen the Kingdom’s position on the global tourism map,” the minister said.
The Kingdom’s tourism sector has made significant leaps in quality: the total number of domestic and international tourists will reach 106.2 million in 2023. This represents a notable increase of 56% compared to 2019 and a significant increase of 12% compared to 2022. The number of international tourists reached 27.4 million, a significant increase of 56% compared to 2019 and an impressive increase of 65 % compared to 2022 means.
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