Saudi officials predict 28 million tourists will visit Saudi Arabia in 2023

Saudi officials predict 28 million tourists will visit Saudi Arabia in 2023

RIYADH: A leading Saudi government official on Monday said that about 28 million tourists are expected to visit the Kingdom this year.

Speaking at the first Tourism, Entertainment and Cultural Investment Forum in Riyadh, Mahmoud Abdulhadi, the deputy minister of investment attraction at the Ministry of Tourism, said the projections of the remarkable number of visits reflect the growing attractiveness of Saudi Arabia as an international tourism destination.

In comparison, the Kingdom welcomed 16.6 million tourists in 2022 and 3.5 million in 2021, according to recent figures from the World Tourism Barometer.

Abdulhadi highlighted the positive effect the increasing visitor numbers are having on employment opportunities within the rapidly expanding Saudi tourism sector, which now offers 880,000 jobs.

He added that regulations and systems have been implemented or revised within a new tourism framework to help attract investors and enhance competitiveness and quality of service in the sector. He also emphasized the importance of collaboration with the private sector to further improve services and meet the needs of tourists and investors.

Fahd Al-Naeem, the deputy minister of investments development, talked about investment opportunities and potential benefits for small enterprises in the sector. He highlighted advances in tourism laws designed to address and overcome challenges and