Saudi Arabia's total tourism income in 2008 was SR78.5 billion. The primary beneficiaries of this were the food services sector, which had the largest portion of this income, of 42.4 percent, followed by the transport sector with 35.2 percent, the accommodation sector with 16.3 percent, with travel agencies at 1.5 percent and finally the entertainment sector with 4.6 percent. Saudi domestic tourism has grown during 2008, with internal tourism expenditures of SR74.1bn, a rise of 44.4 percent over 2007. The number of domestic tourist trips in Saudi Arabia in 2008 amounted to 43.5 million journeys compared to 40.1 million trips in 2007, a growth of 8.6 percent, according to reports by the tourism information and research center in Saudi Arabia (MAS). Tourist facilities have also contributed significantly to the recruitment of Saudi nationals, accounting for 445,628 jobs last year.
