Saudi licensed hospitality facilities grow 22.7% in Q1 2026

Saudi Arabia’s licensed tourism accommodation facilities, including hotels, serviced apartments and other hospitality properties, increased 22.7% year-on-year to 6,122 in the first quarter of 2026, according to the latest Tourism Establishments Statistics report from the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).

Serviced apartments and other hospitality facilities accounted for 3,159 licensed properties, representing 51.6% of the total, while 2,963 hotels made up the remaining 48.4%.

Hotel room occupancy averaged 60.8% during the quarter, down from 63% a year earlier. In contrast, occupancy across serviced apartments and other hospitality facilities increased to 51.6%, compared with 50.7% in the first quarter of 2025.

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The average hotel stay increased to 4.2 nights, up from 4.1 nights in 2025. Average stays at serviced apartments and other hospitality facilities also rose from 2.1 nights to 2.2 nights.

The number of tourism establishments employing staff increased 9% year-on-year to 177,031, while employment across tourism activities rose 6.5% to 1.04 million. Saudi nationals accounted for 23.9% of the workforce, with non-Saudis making up the remaining 76.1%.

The figures come as Saudi’s tourism sector continues to expand. Separate analysis by hospitality consultancy Cavendish Maxwell found the kingdom recorded 37.2 million domestic and international trips in Q1 of 2026, generating SAR82.7 billion (US$22 billion) in visitor spending, with hospitality occupancy averaging 59%. The kingdom aims to double tourism’s contribution to GDP to SAR600 billion (US$160 billion) by 2030.

For more information, visit www.stats.gov.sa