Knight Frank: Saudi Arabia ranked 13th in terms of tourist number during 2023

Knight Frank revealed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ranked 13th in terms of the number of visitors in the world during 2023, as the number of visitors reached 27.4 million visitors, after the United Arab Emirates (28.2 million visitors), adding that the travel and tourism sector pumped $223.4 billion into the GDP of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, supported by the arrival of 76.2 million tourists to the region, where they spent $135.5 billion together, an increase of 45.3% over 2022.

According to the report, the hospitality sector supported more than 2.6 million jobs in the GCC region in 2023, and the number of tourist arrivals continued to rise, as the United Arab Emirates (28 million) ranked Saudi Arabia (27.4 million) ranked 12th and 13th respectively as the most visited countries in the world.

According to the report, the UAE maintained the highest hotel occupancy rate in the region at 80%, with a revenue per available room (RevPAR) of $155, while Saudi Arabia recorded a high average daily rate (ADR) of $198 and a revenue per available room of $127, despite a moderate occupancy rate of 64%.

The GCC countries will collectively add 392,000 hotel rooms to their total inventory by 2030, with Saudi Arabia leading the increase, accounting for 80%, or 320,000 hotel rooms, according to Knight Frank’s inaugural GCC Hospitality Market Report 2024. The hospitality sector across the GCC has seen impressive growth in occupancy levels and average daily room rates (ADR) over the past few years, largely supported by strategic government initiatives and significant investment in tourism, leisure, hospitality and aviation infrastructure. Dubai was a standout performer, emerging as the third most visited city in the world in 2023, with 17.2 million visitors to the city’s 154,000 hotel rooms. This momentum continued during the first half of the year, with an additional 9.3 million tourists arriving in the city, representing a 9% increase over the first half of 2023.

The sector plays a pivotal role in many of the GCC’s transformation and visionary programmes, such as Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which expects 150 million visitors to the Kingdom by 2030, and the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33) in the UAE.

Tourism and hospitality have emerged as a pivotal sector in the region, contributing to job creation, fostering international cooperation, and enhancing the global standing of the GCC. Notably, in 2023, the travel and tourism sector supported more than 2.6 million jobs across the region, supported by a total of 464,465 hotel rooms.