Saudi Tourism Minister Ahmed Al-Khatib said the ministry will step up its efforts and preparations to launch the summer season campaign this year as all sectors have completed preparations for a strong and attractive tourism season for which more than 600 have been allocated to introduce tourism destinations in the Kingdom million rials.
The minister added during the tourism minister’s monthly meeting with investors in the Saudi tourism sector that the growth rate of total domestic tourism spending in the first quarter of this year was 45% compared to the first quarter of 2022.
This was helped by a strong start to inbound tourism this year and achieving the highest quarterly number of tourists from outside Saudi Arabia for all purposes, estimated at (7.8 million), with a growth rate of 64% compared to the first quarter. 2019. The development of visas and the simplification of their procedures contributed to these results. Efforts to promote and disseminate in target countries, as well as increased demand for umrah, contribute to these results,” the minister said.
In terms of tourist arrivals, their share increased in the first quarter of this year for the purpose of entertainment and recreation by 581% compared to the first quarter of 2019 AD; This is due to the introduction of electronic visas and an increase in the flow of tourists to destinations in the Kingdom, the Okaz newspaper reports.
The share of tourists from the Gulf and the Middle East also grew by 107% compared to 2019, while the growth rate of the number of tourists from East Asia reached 49% (especially Indonesia and Malaysia), and the percentage reached 50% for those who comes from European countries, especially from Turkey and France, Russia, Italy and Germany.
In terms of visitor turnout from outside the Kingdom of Mecca, Al Mukarrama led the way with 4.4 million tourists, while Riyadh came in second in terms of number of tourists due to an increase in arrivals on tourist visas and coming to visit family and friends. and Dammam and Al Khobar achieved a 96.% increase in total tourist arrivals in the first quarter of 2019; Due to the increase in the number of visitors from Bahrain and Qatar for the purpose of entertainment and visiting family and friends.
Significant growth was observed in Jeddah at 247% due to an increase in the number of tourists for the purpose of entertainment and visiting family and friends, while Al Ahsa exceeded the growth rate compared to the first quarter of 2019 with a growth rate of 419% with the return of tourist traffic with Qatar , as well as by increasing the number of tourists from other countries of the Persian Gulf.
