1 week Ago
Cairo: The number of licences for tourism facilities in Saudi Arabia topped 4,400 last year, growing by 89% against the previous year, according to a Saudi official. Spokesman for the Ministry of Tourism, Mohammed Al Rasasmah added that the number of licences issued in 2023 stood at 2,300. “The increasing number of licences issued to tourist hospitality facilities is the result of the ministry’s extensive efforts to enable operators and investors in the sector to obtain the necessary licences,” he added.
Saudi Arabia’s tourism industry is flourishing amid facilities to draw more foreign tourists to the country. They include the issuance of tourist visas on arrival or online for citizens of several nationalities under a system launched in 2019. The kingdom has moved 15 slots to the 12th position on the scale of international tourists’ spending, according to recent global data.
The Saudi news agency SPA, citing the UN Tourism Organisation, reported last November that Saudi Arabia advanced 15 places in the global rankings of international tourist spending in 2023 compared to 2019, leading the upward positions among the top 50 countries. Foreign tourists spent more than SR141 billion, or nearly $38 billion in the kingdom in 2023, the Saudi Ministry of Tourism said last August. The number of tourists in the kingdom surged to more than 100 million in 2023.
Saudi Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb has said the kingdom’s tourism sector in 2023 fulfilled a target of 100 million tourists including 77 million local visitors and 27 million foreign arrivals. The kingdom plans to attract 150 million tourists annually by the year 2030 including 80 million domestic tourists and 70 million foreign visitors. The aim is also to make Saudi Arabia rank among the world’s top 10 tourist destinations.
.
