RIYADH —There has been a huge increase in inbound tourism spending in the Makkah region during the year 2023, reaching SR111.49 billion. This figures marks an increase of 3661.54 percent compared to 2021, when the tourist spending stood at only SR2.96 billion, according to a survey, carried out by Okaz daily based on government reports. The spending of tourists on accommodation accounted for the highest percentage, as the value of spending amounted to about SR38.54 billion, equivalent to 34.57 percent of total spending. Spending on items classified as "other" came second with a value of SR22.27 billion, and spending on shopping came third with a value of SR18.03 billion, equivalent to 16.17 percent of total tourist spending. The fourth place went to spending on transportation, with a value of SR16.67 billion, equivalent to 14.95 percent of tourism spending in the Makkah region, while spending on food and beverages was worth SR13.57 billion, equivalent to 12.17 percent of total tourist spending, and finally spending on entertainment accounted for SR2.41 billion, equivalent to 2.16 percent. It is noteworthy that Saudi Arabia has jumped 15 places in terms of international tourist spending in the ranking of countries in the world, leading the movement of rising positions among the first 50 countries, achieving the 12th place globally in 2023 compared to 2019, according to the report of the United Nations World Tourism Organization. Saudi Arabia topped the list of G20 countries in the number of international visitors by 73 percent. It recorded robust growth in the international tourism revenues by 207 percent based on the latest available data for the period from January to July 2024 compared to the same period in 2019. The total number of local and incoming tourists to Saudi Arabia reached 109.3 million during the year 2023, and incoming tourists constituted about 25 percent of the total tourists, reaching about 27.4 million tourists who spent SR141 billion during 2023, in various tourism fields in the Kingdom.
