Saudi inbound tourism spending rises 8.2% to SAR 92.6B in H1

The Ministry of Tourism said that Saudi Arabia recorded a 8.2% growth in spending by inbound tourism to reach SAR 92.6 billion in the first half of 2024, compared to the same period in 2023.

In its account on social networking platform “X”, the Ministry added that the Kingdom recorded a surplus in the travel item estimated at about SAR 41.6 billion, as shown in the following table:

Details of Tourism Spending in Balance of Payments (SAR bln)
	H1 2023	H1 2024	Change
Spending of Inbound Tourism	85	92.6	8.2%
Spending of Outbound Tourism*	--	51.0	--
Surplus	--	+ 41.6	--

Below is a table showing the travel item in balance of payments since 2016:

Details of Travel Spending in Balance of Payments Since 2016 (SAR bln)
	Spending of Inbound Tourism	Spending of Outbound Tourism*	Surplus/deficit
2016	41.6	62.5	(20.9)
2017	45.2	65.8	(20.6)
2018	51.7	62.4	(10.7)
2019	61.6	56.8	+4.8
2020	15.1	33.2	(18.1)
2021	14.3	45.7	(31.4)
2022	94.5	59.7	+ 34.8
2023	135.0	86.9	+ 48.1
H1 2024	92.6	51.0	+ 41.6

Minister of Tourism Ahmed Alkhateeb said in July that Saudi Arabia received 60 million tourists in the first half of 2024, whose spending reached about SAR 150 billion, with growth of 10% compared to the same period last year, data available to Argaam showed.

In August, the Ministry of Tourism revealed that Saudi Arabia received 109.3 million domestic and inbound tourists, who spent about SAR 255.6 billion in 2023.

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