Saudi inbound tourism spending rises 8.2% to SAR 92.6B in H1 2024

Logo of Ministry of Tourism

The Ministry of Tourism said that Saudi Arabia recorded an 8.2% year-on-year (YoY) growth in inbound tourism spending to reach SAR 92.6 billion in the first half of 2024.

The Kingdom recorded an estimated surplus in the travel account of the balance of payments at about SAR 41.6 billion, the Ministry said in a post on social messaging platform X, as shown in the following table:

Below is a table showing the travel item in balance of payments since 2016:

*Includes spending by Saudis and non-Saudis residing in the Kingdom

Minister of Tourism Ahmed Alkhateeb said in July that Saudi Arabia received 60 million tourists in the first half of 2024, with spending reaching about SAR 150 billion, up 10% YoY, data available to Argaam showed.

In August, the Ministry revealed that Saudi Arabia received 109.3 million domestic and inbound tourists, who spent about SAR 255.6 billion in 2023.