Saudi Arabia experienced the largest growth in international tourist arrivals in 2023 compared to 2019 among major tourism destinations, the Saudi Press Agency reported citing the United Nations World Tourism Barometer report.
The kingdom welcomed 56 percent more tourists last year versus 2019, the report said.
Saudi Arabia also achieved a remarkable recovery rate of 156 percent for tourist numbers in 2023 compared to before the pandemic.
Saudi Arabia surpasses pre-Covid tourism levels
This strong tourism performance helped Saudi Arabia become a leader in tourism growth within the Middle East, a region that was the only one to surpass pre-COVID arrival levels at 122 percent recovery.
Several top Saudi destinations saw significant increases in both foreign and domestic visitors last year.
Tourism spending in the country also set a new record, topping SAR100 billion for the first three quarters of 2023, data from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) revealed.
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