AI Summary
Saudi Arabia received 115.9 million domestic and inbound tourists during 2024, an increase of 6% compared to 2023.
These tourists spent about SAR 284 billion, according to a report by the Ministry of Tourism.
Domestic tourists accounted for nearly 74% (almost 86.2 million) of the total. International tourists represented the remaining 26%, or about 29.7 million.
|
Tourist Arrival in 2024 |
|||||
|
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 |
|
2024 |
86.2 |
+5% |
29.7 |
+8% |
115.9 |
Compared to 2023, during which tourist arrivals reached 109.9 million, the total count soared by nearly 6.6 million in 2024. The following table shows the number of tourists since 2015:
|
Number of Tourists Since 2015 (mln) |
|||
|
Period |
Domestic Tourists |
Inbound Tourists |
Total |
|
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 |
|
2024 |
86.2 |
29.7 |
115.9 |
The total spending by inbound tourists reached 59.4% of total expenditure, while domestic tourists accounted for the remaining 44.6%.
|
Inbound & Domestic Tourist Spending in 2024 (SAR bln) |
|||||
|
Period |
Domestic |
YoY Change |
Inbound |
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 |
|
2024 |
115.3 |
+0.8% |
168.5 |
+19% |
283.8 |
Makkah was the top destination for domestic and inbound tourists in 2024, receiving 43.1 million (23.5 million and 19.6 million domestic and inbound tourists, respectively).
Riyadh came in second, hosting 20.5 million tourists (17.6 million and 2.9 million domestic and inbound tourists, respectively).
The following table classifies visits by purpose for domestic and inbound tourists in 2024:
|
Main Purpose of Domestic & Inbound Visits in 2024 |
|||||
|
Type |
Entertainment |
Visiting Family and Friends |
Business |
Religious |
Others |
|
Domestic |
37% |
35% |
10% |
13% |
4% |
|
Inbound |
25% |
20% |
7% |
41% |
7% |
By nationality, Egyptian inbound tourists led the list, making up almost 3.2 million of the total. Pakistan took the second place with 2.8 million tourists.
|
Inbound Tourists by Nationality in 2024 |
|
|
Country |
Count (mln) |
|
Egypt |
3.2 |
|
Pakistan |
2.8 |
|
Bahrain |
2.6 |
|
Kuwait |
2.1 |
|
India |
1.9 |
|
Indonesia |
1.9 |
|
UAE |
1.5 |
|
Jordan |
1.2 |
|
Qatar |
1.2 |
|
Iraq |
1.1 |
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