3.4 million Bahrainis visited Saudi...

Bahrain ranks as top source market for Saudi

As many as 8.6 million residents from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries visited Saudi Arabia in 2023, with Bahraini travellers accounting for 3.4 million of them.

According to the data released by Saudi's Ministry of Tourism, neighbouring Bahrain was followed by Kuwait as the second biggest source market with 2.3 million travellers, then the UAE with 1.3 million and Qatar with 1.09 million.

The report also listed 455,000 visitors to Saudi from Oman.

Furthermore, according to the ministry, total tourism spending by GCC travellers reached a considerable US$4 billion in 2023.

Saudi's National Tourism Strategy is to attract 150 million visitors by 2030 and increase the travel and tourism sector’s contribution to gross domestic product from 6% to 10%.

In total, Saudi welcomed 109 million tourists in 2023, with inbound tourist numbers rising by 64.8% to 27.4 million and outbound tourists increasing by 5.2% to 81.9 million.

In the wider Middle East, the Kingdom welcomed 5.6 million travellers, including 2.58 million from Egypt and 1.12 million from Jordan.

From Asia and the Pacific, Saudi Arabia saw 7.9 million visitors, with Pakistan leading at 2.47 million.

From the Americas, the US was the top source with 331,000 visitors. Algeria led African nations with 523,000 visitors, while Europe contributed 680,000 tourists, with Uzbekistan and the UK adding 540,000 and 370,000 visitors, respectively.

“The 2023 data reveal that our tourism sector is experiencing remarkable growth and resilience,” noted Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb.

“The statistics shown in the report not only reflect the success of tourism policies but also demonstrate the vibrant economic activity driven by this sector.”

For more information, visit mt.gov.sa

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