Tourism Minister Congratulates Leadership For Sector's Progress In Saudi Arabia

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th May, 2023 ) :Minister of Tourism Ahmed bin Aqeel Al-Khateeb extended congratulations and appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, over the progress achieved by the tourism sector in the Kingdom.

The Saudi Cabinet highlighted on Tuesday the positive results achieved in the tourism sector in the two indicators of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for the number of international tourists and tourism revenues for 2022.

In this regard, the Minister of Tourism stressed that such achievement reflects the leadership's follow-up and interest in strengthening the tourism sector and raising its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) in line with the Saudi Vision 2030.

He also commended the achievement as an addition to the successes being achieved by the Kingdom in various fields and came as a culmination of the directives of the Kindom's leadership to seek to strengthen the Kingdom's position on the global tourism map.

Al-Khateeb also indicated that the development of visas and facilitating their procedures, the promotional campaigns in the targeted countries, and the diversity of tourism options and destinations in the Kingdom were among the reasons for achieving these achievements, affirming the Ministry ongoing efforts in cooperation with all partners from the public and private sectors to move forward in achieving the aspirations of leadership by making the Kingdom a global tourism destination.

According to the UNWTO report, the Kingdom has made a massive leap in the ranking of the countries that received the most international tourists in 2022, advancing 12 places to reach 13th place, compared to 25th place in 2019. The Kingdom received 16.6 million international tourists for all purposes in 2022.

Thus, the Kingdom advanced 16 places in the International Tourism Revenue Index, reaching 11th place in 2022, compared to 27th place in 2019, according to the World Tourism Barometer report issued in May 2023 by the UNWTO.

During the first quarter of 2023, the Kingdom received about 7.8 million international tourists for all purposes, representing the highest-ever quarterly performance, achieving a growth of 64% compared to the same period in 2019.

Accordingly, the Kingdom occupied second place among the list of the most developed countries worldwide during the period, according to the latest data received by the UNWTO.

Also, the Kingdom has achieved a new achievement within the travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) issued by the World Economic Forum (WEF), as it jumped to 33rd place worldwide, advancing ten places at once, compared to 2019.