Riyadh (UNA) – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has achieved a distinguished accomplishment in the tourism sector; it has made a significant leap in the ranking of countries receiving the most international tourists, advancing 12 places, reaching 13th place in 2022 compared to 25th place in 2019, as the number of international tourists coming to the Kingdom reached 16.6 million tourists for all purposes in 2022, according to a report issued by the World Tourism Organization.
The Kingdom also advanced 16 places in the international tourism revenue index, reaching 11th place in 2022 AD, compared to 27th place in 2019 AD in the world, according to the World Tourism Barometer report for May 2023 issued by the World Tourism Organization.
And the Kingdom continued its international achievements in the field of tourism, as the Kingdom received about 7.8 million international tourists for all purposes during the first quarter of 2023 AD, which represents the highest quarterly performance historically, achieving a growth of 64% compared to the same period in 2019 AD, thus achieving the second place among the list of tourists. The most developed countries in the world during the period, according to the most recent data received by the organization from countries.
And the Saudi Minister of Tourism, Ahmed bin Aqil Al-Khatib, confirmed that this achievement is added to the successes achieved by the Kingdom in various fields, as a culmination of the directives of the wise leadership - represented by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and his crown prince, in striving to strengthen the Kingdom’s position on the map. International tourism, and raising its contribution to the gross domestic product in accordance with the Kingdom's Vision 2030.
He pointed out that developing visas and facilitating their procedures, in addition to promotion efforts in the target countries, and the diversity of tourism options and destinations in the Kingdom were among the reasons for achieving these achievements.
He stressed that the ministry will continue its efforts in cooperation with all partners from the public and private sectors in order to move forward in achieving the aspirations of the wise leadership to make the Kingdom a global tourism destination.
It is noteworthy that the Kingdom had earlier achieved a new achievement within the Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) issued by the World Economic Forum (WEF), as it jumped globally to 33rd place, advancing 10 ranks at once, compared to 2019.
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