Saudi Arabia Says Its 100 Million Visitor Goal is ‘No Longer Sufficient’

Saudi Arabia will raise its previous 100 million visitors by 2030 target to 150 million, as kingdom officials say the old number is too low. The move was revealed during the Skift Global Forum 2023 by Mahmoud Abdulhadi, Deputy Minister, Destination Enablement at the Ministry of Tourism.

"100 million visits is no longer sufficient," he said. "We are well above our targets and well above our 2022 performance. So we must be doing something right."

In 2022, Saudi saw only 16.5 million inbound visitors. But domestically the country saw 77.8 million visitors. Saudi counts that as 94.4 visitors total in 2022 – a 45% increase on 2019 and spend has gone up 25%.

He added that leisure is now the country's strongest growth area. Leisure accounts for 38% of all visits and 41% of spend as of last year, while the country now has 880,000 people employed in the sector, a 15% increase on 2019.

The crown prince of Saudi Arabia has announced Soudah Peaks, a new project on the country’s highest peak, 3,015 meters above sea level, where various hotels, holiday homes, shops and restaurants will be built.

It is the second mountain tourism project of Mohammed bin Salman, who also greenlit Trojena, where Saudi Arabia plans to host the Asia Winter Games in 2029.

Financed by the Public Investment Fund, Soudah Peaks will be completed within a decade, housing 2,700 hotel keys and 1,336 residences, along with 80,000 square meters of commercial space. Soudah Peaks will have mansions, chalets, villas