Saudi welcomed 109.3M tourists in 2023, spending hit SAR 256B

Saudi Arabia received 109.3 million domestic and inbound tourists, who spent about SAR 255.6 billion in 2023, according to the Ministry of Tourism.

Domestic tourists accounted for nearly 75%, or 81.9 million, of the total, while international tourists represented the remaining 25%, or about 27.4 million.

Tourist Count in 2023
Period	Domestic Tourists (mln)	YoY Change	Inbound Tourists (mln)	YoY Change	Total (mln)
2021*	63.8	+52%	3.5	(16%)	67.3
2022	77.8	+22%	16.6	+378%	94.9
2023	81.9	+5%	27.4	+65%	109.3

*COVID-19 Pandemic

Compared to 2022, the number of tourists reached 94.9 million rose by nearly 14.4 million in 2023. The following table shows the number of tourists since 2015:

Number of tourists since 2015
Period	Domestic Tourists (mln)	Inbound Tourists (mln)	Total (mln)
2015	46.5	18.0	64.4
2016	45.0	18.0	63.1
2017	43.8	16.1	59.9
2018	43.3	15.3	58.6
2019	47.8	17.5	65.3
2020*	42.1	4.1	46.2
2021*	63.9	3.5	67.3
2022	77.8	16.6	94.9
2023	81.9	27.4	109.3

*COVID-19 Pandemic

The total spending by domestic tourists reached 55.3% of total expenditure, while inbound tourists’ spending accounted for 44.8% of the total.

Inbound and Domestic Tourism Spending in 2023 (SAR bln)
Period	Domestic Tourist Spending	YoY Change	Inbound Tourist Spending	YoY Change	Total Spending
2021*	102.2	+136%	14.7	(65%)	116.9
2022	107.3	+5%	98.3	+568%	205.6
2023	114.4	+7%	141.2	+44%	255.6

*COVID-19 Pandemic

Makkah was the top destination for domestic and inbound tourists in 2023, receiving 38 million (22.6 million and 15.4 million domestic and inbound tourists, respectively).

Riyadh came second, welcoming 19.1 million tourists (16.3 million and 2.8 million domestic and inbound tourists, respectively).

The following table classifies visits by purpose for domestic and inbound tourists in 2023:

Main Purpose of Domestic and Inbound Visits in 2023:
Type	Entertainment	Family and Friends	Business	Religious	Other
Domestic	37 %	32 %	14 %	11 %	6 %
Inbound	23 %	23 %	7 %	42 %	6 %

The following table shows the stay and target accommodation for domestic and inbound tourists:

Stay and Target Accommodation for Domestic and Inbound Tourists:
Type	Tourist Spending (SAR/Night)	Average Stay (Night)	Hotels	Private Home	Apartments	Other
Domestic	1397	6.1	36 %	31 %	27 %	6 %
Inbound	5150	15.8	57 %	21 %	19 %	3 %

By nationality, Bahraini inbound tourists came on top, as the Kingdom received almost 3.4 million. Egypt took the second place with 2.6 million tourists.

Inbound Tourists by Nationality in 2023:
Country	Tourist Count (mln)
Bahrain	3.4
Egypt	2.6
Pakistan	2.5
Kuwait	2.3
Indonesia	1.8
India	1.7
UAE	1.4
Jordan	1.1
Qatar	1.1
Bangladesh	0.8

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