Saudi Arabia is second in the world in the growth of tourist arrivals within 7 months
Saudi Arabia tops the list of countries with the highest growth in the number of international tourists globally during the first quarter of 2023.
Shrouq
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ranked second globally in the growth rate of the number of arriving tourists during the first seven months of 2023.
The Al Arabiya website, quoting the Saudi Ministry of Tourism, said today, Wednesday, October 4, 2023, that the Kingdom recorded a growth rate of 58% compared to the same period in 2019.
This classification came in accordance with the World Tourism Report, Barometer, issued by the World Tourism Organization in September.
These results are a follow-up to the distinguished achievements achieved by the Kingdom in the tourism sector, and its leadership in the global scene in this vital sector.
The most recent achievement was hosting the World Tourism Day activities, which were held in Riyadh, during the period between 27 and 28 last September, according to the Saudi News Agency “SPA”.
The number of tourists in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the past year reached 94.5 million from abroad and domestically, a growth of 45% compared to 2019, since the launch of the Saudi tourism strategy, according to the preliminary statement of the Kingdom’s budget for the year 2024 issued by the Ministry of Finance.
Number of international tourists
Saudi Arabia topped the list of countries with the highest growth in the number of international tourists globally during the first quarter of 2023, as it received about 7.8 million international tourists, which represents the highest historical quarterly performance, achieving a growth of 64% compared to the same period in 2019, according to the statement.
The volume of tourism spending
The volume of tourism spending in 2022 reached about 206 billion riyals, a growth of 25% compared to 2019, and the total number of jobs in the tourism sector for the year 2022 reached about 880 thousand jobs, with a growth rate of 54% compared to 2019.
Saudi tourism strategy
The statement touched on the launch of the National Tourism Strategy in 2019, with the aim of developing the tourism sector in the Kingdom, as the strategy seeks to achieve goals and ambitions for the development and sustainability of tourism within the Saudi Vision 2030.
The roles of the Ministry of Tourism, the Tourism Development Fund, and the Saudi Tourism Authority are complementary to implement the national tourism strategy and achieve the ambitions and goals of the sector.
The National Tourism Strategy aims to provide an integrated system of services and offers for tourists, in addition to providing an attractive investment environment for investors, resulting in the creation of more jobs in the tourism sector.
Tourism Education Initiative
The statement talked about the initiatives launched by the Ministry of Tourism, such as the Tourism Education Initiative, which aims to partner with universities and higher education institutions throughout the Kingdom to provide and activate enriching educational programs that contribute to the development of the sector and its services provided.
Educational programs were designed that seek to align education outcomes between the labor market and the tourism and hospitality sector. It launched the “Tourism Pioneers” program to complement the national strategy of the Ministry of Tourism, which aims to develop the capabilities of 100,000 Saudi young men and women and provide them with the main skills in the field of hospitality and tourism to prepare them to work in the thriving tourism sector. In the Kingdom.
