Saturday, November 9, 2024 The Middle East’s tourism sector is booming, with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and Bahrain making record-breaking strides in visitor numbers, expanded air routes, and rising hotel occupancy rates. These Gulf countries have positioned themselves as leading tourism and hospitality destinations, driven by economic diversification goals and strategic investments in infrastructure and connectivity. According to the latest data from ACI Asia-Pacific, traffic volumes in these nations have surpassed pre-pandemic levels as of Q2 2024, with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and Bahrain experiencing substantial growth in air traffic volumes by 30%, 27%, 39%, and 24% respectively.
In 2023, Saudi Arabia achieved a significant milestone by surpassing its Vision 2030 tourism target seven years early, welcoming over 100 million tourists. This influx of both domestic and international visitors, who collectively spent over $67 billion, marks Saudi Arabia’s rapid ascent as a global travel destination. The Kingdom saw an impressive 27.
4 million international arrivals in 2023, marking a 56% increase from 2019 levels and underscoring Saudi Arabia’s post-pandemic recovery and global appeal. This record-breaking growth places Saudi Arabia among the top-performing G20 nations in tourism expansion. Tourism’s contribution to Saudi Arabia’s GDP reached approximately 4.
4% in 2023, amounting to SAR 444.3 billion ($118.6 billion), a remarkable 32% increase compared to prio.