The Kingdom's burgeoning tourism scene, and the continued rise of Riyadh Season has reached new heights with recent figures highlighting the city's growing popularity as a global destination.
This year, in its first week, Riyadh Season welcomed more than 2 million visitors, and just a few weeks later it was announced that a total of 4 million visitors attended Riyadh Season in the first month.
And just this week, it was confirmed that in 5 weeks more than 6 million visitors have explored Riyadh Season 2024: this is a record breaking figure considering the final total number of visitors noted to have visited Riyadh Season in 2023 was 18 million.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Tourism announced this morning that during the recent mid-year school break (last week) Riyadh's 5-star hotels achieved an impressive 97% occupancy rate. Overall, hotel and apartment occupancy in the city surpassed 90%, a testament to the city's thriving tourism scene.
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Tourism has been a focal point for the Saudi Arabia, particularly under the pillars of Vision 2030, as the Kingdom looks to move away from dependency on oil. The recent surge in tourism, especially to the capital city can likely be attributed to several entertainment events, including the Saudi Winter events calendar, the enthralling sporting
To further bolster the tourism sector, the Ministry of Tourism has committed to streamline the process of licensing hospitality facilities, aiming to increase the number of options in addition to providing an elevated overall visitor experience. This strategic move is expected to attract more international tourists and contribute further to diversifying the Kingdom's economic growth.
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In September it was announced that the there was a 73% increase in international tourists to Saudi Arabia and according to statistics released by UN Tourism and the World Tourism Barometer, the Kingdom has seen a staggering 207% growth in international tourism revenues.
With numerous exciting events such as Riyadh Season and the Jeddah Eprix, cultural activities in destinations such as AlUla and Diriyah, alongside a wide variety of newly introduced and renewed direct flight routes that now connect Saudi Arabia with both the Far East and Europe, in addition to an easier visa process, tourists continue to see Saudi Arabia as a viable, go-to and accessible tourism destination.
