RIYADH: A 225 percent rise in revenue helped flip the balance of payments in Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector to SR22.8 billion ($6.08 billion) in the first quarter of 2023 from a deficit of SR1.6 billion a year earlier.
The Kingdom’s Ministry of Tourism, citing data from the Saudi Central Bank, noted incoming revenues from visitors to Saudi Arabia hit SR37 billion in the three months to the end of March.
According to the ministry, this achievement is the result of the Kingdom’s growing efforts to boost the sector, aligned with the goals outlined in the Vision 2030 initiative, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The Kingdom’s National Tourism Strategy aims to attract 100 million visitors by 2030, along with increasing the contribution of the tourism sector to gross domestic product to more than 10 percent.
Saudi Arabia has recently accomplished several milestones in this pursuit, including advancing 16 places in the international tourism revenue index to be ranked 11th in 2022.
Moreover, the Kingdom welcomed 7.8 million tourists during the first quarter of 2023, up 66 percent compared to the same period in 2019.
Data released by the World Tourism Organization in May 2023 also revealed that Saudi Arabia is ranked second when it comes to the growth rate of international tourists.
To materialize its tourism ambitions, construction works of several giga-projects, including the $500-billion futuristic city of NEOM, Red Sea Project, and AMAALA are progressing steadily in the Kingdom.
