Followed by the UAE and Morocco.. Saudi Arabia is the first in the Arab world to attract tourists during 2022

Over the past few years, Saudi efforts to develop the tourism sector have increased as an economic tributary and one of the most important pillars of the "Saudi 2030" vision to contribute to diversifying the base of the Saudi economy, attracting investments, increasing income, and providing job opportunities.

The Kingdom is making efforts to upgrade this sector, as it aims to raise its contribution to the GDP to 10%, in addition to achieving 100 million visits by 2030, making the Kingdom among the top 5 countries that receive tourists worldwide.

According to the Saudi newspaper, Sabq, these efforts culminated in the announcement by the World Tourism Organization a few days ago that the Kingdom issued the list of the most attractive Arab countries for tourists, with an average of 18 million visitors since the beginning of 2022 until the end of last September, and the UAE came in second place with 14.8 million tourists, and Morocco In third place with 11 million.

Northwestern Saudi Arabia embraces Mada'in Saleh, which was the home of the Thamud people (communication sites)

According to a report issued by the same organization, last month, Saudi Arabia topped the Group of Twenty countries in the rate of influx of international tourists during the first seven months of 2022, noting that the Kingdom achieved extraordinary results, as the percentage of visitors to the Kingdom increased by more than 121%, in the period from January through July 2022.

The Kingdom, the largest economy in the Arab world, aims during 2030 to attract 100 million tourists, 50% of whom will be hosted by the capital, Riyadh.

Million job opportunities

This is expected to contribute to creating more than one million job opportunities, as well as achieving an increase in the Kingdom's GDP, estimated at 10%.

Saudi Arabia topped the list of the most attractive Arab countries for tourists, after several steps taken by the concerned authorities. The private sector to invest in tourism.

The Kingdom has launched many initiatives in order to achieve the goals of the tourism sector, such as the initiatives to develop the Farasan Islands, and the initiative to develop the White Cape Beach in the Medina region.

These projects include the $500 billion futuristic city of NEOM that contains a nature reserve, coral reefs, heritage sites and a number of islands along the Red Sea, and the Diriyah Gate, a 7 square kilometer site centered around the UNESCO World Heritage-listed At-Turaif neighborhood.

The Red Sea Development Company, owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, is building a huge tourism project along the Red Sea coast, with 16 hotels spread over 5 islands.

In addition, the Kingdom is working to protect national heritage sites and raise awareness of their importance locally and globally, with the aim of stimulating both domestic and foreign tourism, as well as developing tourism events and festivals to attract tourists, and stimulating domestic tourism.

Saudi Arabia is among the top 10 global tourist destinations

Saudi Tourism Minister Ahmed Al-Khatib says that the form of tourism in the Kingdom will be completely different after the completion of the new projects, whether government projects such as “Diriyah”, “Qiddiya” and “Red Sea”, or private sector projects, stressing his belief that tourism in Saudi Arabia will be The second income after oil.

Al-Khatib indicated in statements published by local media that Saudi Arabia will be among the top 10 tourist destinations in the world, pointing out that the number of trips to Saudi Arabia has been doubled to three times its levels in 2019, in addition to the number of internal visits in Saudi Arabia during the past year reaching 65 One million visits, achieving a record level, while spending exceeded 80 billion riyals ($21.28 billion) last year.

He also noted the readiness of the Saudi Tourism Development Fund to finance tourism projects up to 50% of the project value, while the banks will support part of it as well, noting that the ministry focused on developing strategic plans, to raise the percentage of tourism in the Kingdom to 10%, which will support the national economy .

Saudi Arabia seeks to attract 100 million tourists by 2030, and the capital, Riyadh, will host 50% of them (Shutterstock)

new tourism system

As part of the Kingdom's efforts to develop the tourism sector and attract investments, the Saudi Cabinet approved last August a new tourism system, the first of its kind in the Kingdom, aimed at upgrading this sector.

This system is part of the system of improvements and development of the regulatory and legislative environment for the tourism sector, and the continuation of the development process, which contributes to the development of national tourism and attracting investments for this sector.

Saudi Arabia has also developed a large administrative system for tourism in the past few years, including the establishment of the Ministry of Tourism, the Saudi Tourism Authority, the Tourism Development Fund, the Tourism Development Council and the Tourism Development Councils in the regions, with the aim of upgrading and revitalizing the tourism sector.

The Kingdom began receiving tourists for the first time in 2019 by issuing electronic tourist visas to citizens of about 50 European and Asian countries in addition to the United States, and receiving requests from tourists through its diplomatic missions from the rest of the world.

The Saudi Cabinet also approved a decision authorizing the Ministry of Tourism to enable the growth of the sector, allowing the granting of tax and customs exemptions or reductions with the relevant government agencies, thus creating incentives for companies to invest in the tourism sector.

Challenges

The Saudi expert and economic advisor, Sultan Al-Khalidi, said in statements to Al-Jazeera Net, that the Kingdom's lead in the list of Arab countries most attractive to tourists did not come from a vacuum, but was the result of government efforts and moves at all levels that had a great impact in attracting large numbers of tourists during 2022, whether from outside or inside.

He stressed that Saudi Arabia ranked first in the Arab world with a rate of 18 million visitors since the beginning of the year until now, which is a large number in light of the challenges faced by the tourism sector since the outbreak of the Corona virus and the restrictions imposed on travel movement.

Al-Khalidi points out that the tourism sector occupied an important place in the Kingdom's strategic plans to diversify the financial revenues of its economy in light of the global trend towards renewable energy and the risks facing the crude oil sector.

One of the historical mosques in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (SPA)

Historic legacy and ancient cities

The Saudi economic expert believes that the Kingdom has a historical legacy throughout the ages of archaeological and historical cities and terrain, in addition to thousands of kilometers of beaches, making it an attractive global center for tourists throughout the year, in addition to religious tourism in both Makkah and Madinah, which continues throughout the year, pointing out that Over the next two years, the Kingdom aspires to launch local, regional and global initiatives with regard to foreign investment.

Within the framework of the Saudi moves to attract tourists, Al-Khalidi referred to the tours of the Saudi Tourism Authority in the Gulf countries to promote tourism in the Kingdom. In the influx of large numbers of tourists and visitors.