The kingdom of Saudi Arabia topped the United Nations list of tourism in the growth of the number of international tourists in 2023 compared to 2019 for the major tourist countries, as the Kingdom achieved an increase of 56% in the number of tourist arrivals in 2023 compared to 2019, according to the Barometer report issued by the United Nations tourism in January 2024.
The report also indicates that the Kingdom achieved a recovery of 156% in the number of tourist arrivals during 2023 compared to 2019.
The kingdom's outstanding achievements in the tourism sector have contributed to the leadership of the Middle East region for global recovery in the field of tourism, as the only region that has achieved growth beyond the pre-covid-19 pandemic levels, as the recovery rate in international tourist numbers reached 122% in the Middle East during 2023 compared to 2019
Various tourist destinations in the Kingdom witnessed a significant increase in the numbers of inbound and local visitors during the year 2023, and the kingdom also achieved a new record in the spending of inbound visitors, according to the balance of payments data issued by the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia, where the total spending of visitors amounted to more than 100 billion riyals for the first three quarters of 2023.