RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s tourism industry is a “beacon” of innovation, according to a UN body after the Kingdom exceeded its Vision 2030 target of welcoming 100 million visitors a year.
The UN’s World Tourism Organization joined with the World Travel and Tourism Council to congratulate Saudi Arabia on reaching the goal seven years ahead of schedule.
UNWTO also suggested that the Kingdom could soon achieve its upgraded target of attracting 150 million visitors by 2030.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Tourism disclosed that the Kingdom played host to 27.5 million international holiday makers in 2023, marking a notable 65 percent increase compared to 2022.
Likewise, the count of domestic tourists rose by 2 percent year-on-year, reaching 79.3 million in 2023.
“Saudi Arabia’s achievement of welcoming over 100 million tourists in 2023 is a beacon of what is possible through collaboration, innovation, and a clear vision for the future,” stated UNWTO in a statement.
“As Saudi Arabia continues to drive toward its goal of 150 million tourists by 2030, UN Tourism looks forward to supporting its journey, celebrating its successes, and promoting a more resilient, sustainable, and inclusive future for global tourism,” it added.
According to the UNWTO statement, Saudi Arabia has generated over 925,500 jobs in the tourism sector as of 2023, positioning the Kingdom on track to make tourism the second-largest employer by the end of this decade.
Collectively, both international and domestic tourists spent more than SR250 billion ($67 billion), constituting over 4 percent of the Kingdom’s total gross domestic product and 7 percent of non-oil GDP, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
“This achievement underscores the dedicated efforts of the Saudi tourism ecosystem in developing the tourism sector in Saudi,” said the ministry in an X post.
Saudi Tourism Minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb attributed this achievement to the wise leadership of the Kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who aims to enhance the Kingdom’s position on the global travel map.
Saudi Arabia’s accomplishments align with the National Tourism Strategy, striving to establish the Kingdom as a global tourist destination and increase the sector’s contribution to the country’s GDP by 10 percent.
