KSA gets 53.6mn tourists in H1’23

Saudi Arabia’s 53.6 million tourists included 14.6 million inbound tourists. It indicates the Ministry of Tourism’s efforts like enhancing its tourism products and quality of services are paying off.

TT Bureau

Saudi Arabia received 53.6 million tourists (overnight visitors for all purposes) in the first half of 2023, according to the preliminary tourism data released by the Ministry of Tourism. This confirms effectiveness of the efforts of the ministry and its partners in attracting visitors by enhancing the tourism products and quality of services, in addition to improving visa structures. Of the 53.6 million visitors, 39 million were domestic tourists and 14.6 million were inbound tourists. The total tourism spending reached (SAR150 billion), of which (SAR 63.1 billion) came from domestic tourism and (SAR 86.9 billion) from inbound tourism, that indicates a new historical record for Saudi tourism.

Inbound tourism achieved historical record numbers in the first half of 2023, recording an increase of (142 per cent) in number of tourists and (132 per cent) in total tourism spending versus the first half of 2022. With the continuous development of the tourism sector, there has been an increase in the number of tourists for all purposes with leisure tourists showing the highest growth (347per cent) verus the first half of 2022. Domestic tourism recorded a 16 per cent growth in spending.