Strong Market Performance Marked by Steady, Fast Growth
Growth recovered at 16.6 million in 2022
Due to the pandemic, the overall tourist footfall dropped to from
4.1 million in 2020
3.4 million in 2021
In the entirety of 2023, the Kingdom welcomed 27.4 million international tourists, a 65% growth year-on-year (YoY). This is a testament to the accelerated investments and efforts being poured into Saudi’s tourism sector to further attract global visitors. As a result, the country achieved a remarkable 150% recovery rate compared to pre-pandemic levels. In fact, the tourism sector showed resilience even in the depths of the pandemic, primarily driven by a surge in domestic travel. Prior to the advent of the pandemic, precisely in the first eight months of 2019, the number of cross-border visitors grew to 12.6 million, a rise of 11% year on year (YoY).
However, due to the pandemic, the overall tourist footfall dropped to 4.1 million in 2020 and 3.4 million in 2021, when international travel came to a halt. The numbers quickly recovered in 2022, reaching an all-time high of 16.6 million visitors who spent over SAR 98.2 billion, demonstrating the country's commitment to achieving a rapid recovery. Since its launch in 2019, the National Tourism Strategy has had a transformative impact on the Saudi tourism sector, contributing to the overall improvement in the sector over the period from 2019-2021 and promoting a faster recovery in tourism. This was reflected in the exponential growth in the number of domestic tourists, which jumped by 33.6% over the same period.
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