Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – A survey conducted by Okaz/Saudi Gazette shows that there was a 14.43 percent rise in spending on entertainment and culture by citizens, expatriates and tourists during the third quarter of this year with a total value of SR2.8 billion, compared to SR2.45 billion for the same period in 2018, with an increase of SR353.44 million during Q3 2019. The survey is based on the data provided by the government. The survey also showed the number of operations carried out in the entertainment and culture sector have increased by 41.49 percent, as they reached 11.81 million compared to 8.32 million operations during the same quarter in 2018, with an increase of 3.49 million operations during Q3 2019. During the first nine months of 2019, the total sales in the entertainment and culture sector reached SR8.08 billion (which is equivalent to SR29.61 million daily), with an increase of SR893.54 million during the whole period compared to the same period in 2018, which registered SR7.19 billion at that time. Hence, spending by the citizens, expatriates and tourists increased by 12.43 percent during the current year. As to the number of operations carried out during the past nine months, it registered a rise of 33.47 percent, rising to 31.65 million operations (at the rate of 115,915 operations daily) compared to 23.71 million operations last year. During the current year, spending in the entertainment and culture sector formed 3.92 percent of overall spending in all the sectors totaling SR206.42 billion, of which SR8.08 billion was spent on the entertainment and culture sectors. According to the survey, spending on the entertainment and culture sectors during the first nine months of 2019 was SR8.08 billion, exceeding the total spending in the furniture sector as well as electrical and electronic appliances sector, as the total expenditure in the furniture sector reached SR8.05 billion whereas the total spending in the electronics and electrical appliances sector reached SR7.64 billion. The rest of the sectors include communications, health, restaurants and cafes, hotels, food and beverages, clothes and shoes, services and various commodities, electrical and electronic appliances, building and construction materials, jewelry, telecommunications, education, public utilities, and a number of subsidiary sectors.
