GCC tourists spent $4bn in Saudi Arabia last year

Nine million visitors from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries spent more than SAR15 billion ($4 billion) in Saudi Arabia last year, as the kingdom expands its portfolio of tourism attractions.

Bahrain was the top GCC source market, with 3.4 million tourists, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported, citing the tourism ministry’s annual statistics report.

A total of 2.3 million visitors saw Kuwait take second place, followed by the UAE (1.4 million), Qatar (1.1 million), and Oman (455,000).

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The kingdom received 27 million international visitors who spent SAR141 billion last year. The combined number of domestic and international tourists surpassed 109 million.

In May, tourism minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb said Saudi Arabia will invest more than $800 billion in its main giga-projects by the next decade as part of a tourism expansion strategy focused on affluent tourists in China, India and Europe. 

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Speaking at the Qatar Investment Forum, the minister said: “We’re building and investing in major destinations like Neom, Red Sea, Qiddiya and Diriyah, with an announced investment of more than $800 billion in the next seven years.”

Saudi Arabia is also expanding infrastructure, including a new Riyadh airport for its airline Riyadh Air, due to open in 2030, further easing visa access and increasing direct flights from the world’s major cities, Al-Khateeb said.