Saudi Arabia attracted 27 million foreign tourists in 2023.
The announcement comes less than five years after the Gulf kingdom fully opened up to tourism.
“This year we have reached the figure of 100 million tourists, 77 million from the country, 27 million from abroad, more than 100 million,” said Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Hatib at a conference organized by the Saudi Arabian State Fund, presenting the figures for 2023. .
Authorities now hope to reach 150 million tourists a year by 2030, up from an earlier target of 100 million, he said.
Tourism is an essential element of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 reform agenda, which aims to help the world’s largest crude oil exporter transition away from fossil fuels and prepare for a post-oil future.
Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, has long welcomed pilgrims as well as business travelers, but only introduced a general tourist visa in 2019, just months before the coronavirus pandemic decimated the industry globally.
New resorts along the Red Sea coast are expected to be a big attraction, although recent attacks by Houthi rebels on ships on the Red Sea in neighboring Yemen have revived security concerns in the region.
The Houthis, who have been at war with a Saudi-led military coalition since 2015, say their attacks are an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and a protest against the war between Israel and Hamas that has been raging in the Gaza Strip since October last year.
