What's Next for Saudi Tourism? Expanding Source Markets and Boosting Visitor Spend

09.10.2024 - 10:47 / skift.com / Peden Doma Bhutia

In a year marked by regional instability and war, Saudi Arabia’s inbound arrivals have continued to grow.

“Saudi Arabia has been registering double-digit growth in inbound arrivals, year on year, and we are welcoming tourists by the day,” said Sultan Al Musallam, Saudi’s deputy minister of tourism for international affairs, who was speaking with Skift at the WTTC Global Summit in Perth.

“As the numbers reflect, we’re growing from an inbound perspective,” Al Musallam said when asked about whether regional tensions have affected tourism arrivals.

Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector has experienced significant growth since launching its e-visa program, positioning the country as an emerging destination, he said.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization recently ranked Saudi Arabia as having the largest rise in international tourism numbers among G20 countries in the first seven months of 2024.

Saudi Arabia registered a 73% increase in the number of foreign tourists from the same period in 2019.

Musallam said, “We’re now embarking on the next phase of the strategy, focusing on expanding our source markets, ensuring strong connections with them, and making sure that we focus not just on the volume of tourists, but also the value that they bring.”

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan initially aimed to attract 100 million visitors annually by 2030, and the goal has now been revised up to 150 million. The country announced that it has surpassed the goal of 100 million tourists in 2023, seven years ahead of schedule.

The deputy minister noted that Saudi Arabia is on track to receive between 30 and 32 million inbound tourists by the end of the year, with a substantial portion coming from Asia. “Asia already represents a big share of our inbound. Its share is about 20 million of the 27.4 million,” said Al Musallam.

Of course, a large part of that also includes the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, but the kingdom’s strategic focus on countries like India and China has also been pivotal in driving this growth.

“The middle income segment in India is booming. We’re quite keen and focused on expanding and unlocking that market. The other opportunity we see is in the rebound of the Chinese outbound market,” he said.

And expanding air connectivity has been crucial to Saudi Arabia’s tourism growth. At the start of 2024, there were no direct flights between Saudi Arabia and China. Now, four Chinese airlines connect the two countries, fostering a steady flow of tourists. “We entered this year without any connectivity to China. Now we have four Chinese airlines connecting three different cities within China to Saudi Arabia,” said Al Musallam. The improved links are part of a broader effort to position Saudi Arabia as a