Bahraini Nationals Top 8.6M GCC Visitors to Saudi Arabia
- Publish date: Monday، 05 August 2024
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Saudi Arabia welcomed 8.6 million visitors from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in 2023, with Bahraini travelers making up the largest group at 3.4 million.
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Breakdown of Visitor Numbers
According to the Ministry of Tourism, Kuwait contributed 2.3 million visitors, the UAE sent 1.3 million, and Qatar accounted for 1.09 million travelers. Oman followed with 455,000 visitors.
Economic Impact of Tourism
The Ministry noted that GCC travelers spent SR15 billion ($4 billion) in 2023. Overall, the Kingdom saw 109 million tourists last year, with inbound tourists increasing by 64.8% to 27.4 million and outbound tourists rising by 5.2% to 81.9 million. Total tourism spending reached SR141.2 billion for inbound and SR114.4 billion for outbound tourists.
Visitors from Other Regions
Saudi Arabia also welcomed 7.9 million visitors from Asia and the Pacific, with Pakistan leading at 2.47 million. The Middle East contributed 5.6 million travelers, including 2.58 million from Egypt and 1.12 million from Jordan. The US was the top source from the Americas with 331,000 visitors, while Algeria led African nations with 523,000 travelers. Europe contributed 680,000 tourists, with Uzbekistan and the UK sending 540,000 and 370,000 visitors, respectively.
Focus on Tourism for Economic Diversification
Saudi Arabia is actively enhancing its tourism sector as part of its strategy to diversify its economy away from oil dependence. The National Tourism Strategy aims to attract 150 million visitors by 2030 and boost tourism's contribution to GDP from 6% to 10%.
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