According to recent research, Saudi Arabia will have 320,000 new hotel rooms by 2030 to accommodate 150 million domestic and foreign tourists annually.
According to data from international real estate consultancy Knight Frank, this growth will strengthen the travel and tourism sector in the country, which currently contributes about 6% of Saudi Arabia’s GDP and is essential to meeting the government’s target of having tourism generate 10% of the country’s GDP by 2030.
Knight Frank’s evaluation of the hotel industry in the Kingdom was released soon after Saudi Arabia welcomed a record number of tourists in 2022. Spending on tourism increased by 132% to $23.2 billion (SAR 87 billion) in the first half of 2023, compared to the same period in 2022. The Kingdom saw 14.6 million foreign arrivals during the same six-month period, a 142 percent year-over-year increase that represents the best half-year performance in Saudi Arabia’s tourist sector’s history.
The top three source markets for international tourists, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Egypt, are all close by Gulf countries that have contributed significantly to the expansion. But the Kingdom’s goal is to draw tourists from even farther afield. With a target of welcoming 150 million visitors by 2030 – a 50 percent increase from its previous goal – the government is actively exploring strategies to attract international travelers,” said Turab Saleem, partner, and head of hospitality, tourism, and leisure advisory at Knight Frank Middle East.
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