According to new figures released by the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), Saudi Arabia was the most visited Arab country by tourists throughout this year.
Over 18 million tourists visited Saudi Arabia in 2022, so far, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) following second at 14.8 million tourists, and Morocco coming third at 11 million tourists.
Meanwhile, 8.5 million tourists visited Syria, 5.7 million visited Tunisia, 5.2 million visited Egypt, 4.3 million visited Bahrain and 3.5 million visited Jordan. Next came Algeria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Palestine and, at the bottom, Kuwait with 203,000 tourists.
Tourism is one of the most important pillars of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Vision 2030, with the Kingdom aiming to raise the number of annual tourist visits to 100 million visitors by 2030.
In August, Saudi Arabia’s cabinet approved a new law to boost the competitiveness of the tourism sector.
Tourism Minister Ahmad al-Khateeb said at the time that the newly approved law comes in the line with the leadership’s orders to build a competitive tourism sector and contribute to the goals of Vision 2030.
As per the law, businesses will be given special licenses and support from the ministry, which will streamline licensing procedures by creating a one-stop-shop platform for all tourism stakeholders.
