UN Tourism (known until recently as UNWTO) has released a report indicating a 156% surge in tourist arrivals to Saudi Arabia in 2023 compared to 2019, signalling robust global tourism growth. Saudi Arabia welcomed 27 million overseas visitors in 2023, significantly surpassing its tourism targets. Overall, the Middle East emerged as the only region to surpass pre-pandemic tourism figures, with a 122% increase in visitors in 2023.
Globally, tourism in 2023 recovered to 88% of its pre-pandemic levels, with approximately 1.3 billion arrivals. International tourism revenues neared pre-pandemic figures, reaching US$1.3 trillion, close to the US$1.5 trillion recorded in 2019.
The UN Tourism organisation also highlighted the significant economic impact of tourism, estimating its direct contribution to global GDP at 3%, totalling $3.3 trillion in 2023.
The organisation anticipates a full recovery of the tourism sector in 2024, with a projected growth of 2% over 2019 levels.
Saudi Arabia, in particular, has been recognised for its substantial growth in tourism, leading G20 nations in tourist arrivals in 2023 and ranking as the second-fastest-growing tourist destination globally in the first three quarters of the year.
Tourist spots within the Kingdom saw a marked increase in both domestic and international visitors in 2023, setting a new spending record for inbound tourism.
According to the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), tourism revenues exceeded SAR100 billion in the first three quarters of 2023, significantly surpassing the initial forecast of SAR37.8 billion and reflecting a 72% increase from the same period in 2022.
During a recent conference hosted by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, Saudi Tourism Minister, H.E. Ahmed Al Khateeb revealed that the total tourist count for 2023 stood at 100 million, including both domestic and international visitors. With this momentum, the kingdom now aims to attract 150 million tourists by the end of the decade, adjusting its international visitor target to 70 million, more than double the previous 30 million goal.
Training in line with growth
In line with tourism growth, the Kingdom has embarked upon a major campaign of training in order to meet sharply growing demand. To this end, in 2023, the UN Tourism Organisation, then known as UNWTO, signed an agreement with the Ministry of Tourism of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The first of its kind, the agreement is focused on the creation of training and quality certification programs in the Kingdom. The training will have a global reach and be built around collaboration in the following areas:
- Online Courses: The creation of massive online open courses targeting the global tourism sector workforce, which reaches up to 300 million people. The courses will be managerial as well as vocational and available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French and Spanish. Topics will include entrepreneurship, innovation, event management, destination management, sustainability, gastronomy, hotel and restaurant operations.
- Jobs Factory and Tourism Labor Market Observatory: To promote the creation of added value jobs through capacity building and analysis of the workforce skills in the Kingdom. The initiative will benefit up to 100,000 job seekers and involve at least 50 tourism businesses.
- TedQual Quality Certification Programs: Up to 50 tourism education and training programs will be assessed as part of the UNWTO TedQual process. Up to 35 programs in tourism education and training institutions in the Kingdom will participate in this certification program.
- Innovation & Digital Transformation: To create programs with the aim of promoting innovation and digital transformation to empower youth and small and medium enterprises in tourism field.
On announcing the move, UN Tourism Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili (pictured top of page) said, “Our vision is to provide anyone interested in the tourism sector access to the many and varied opportunities it offers, no matter where they are in the world. We are working to break down barriers between jobs, skills and training and so deliver on tourism’s massive potential as an employer.”
Saudi Minister of Tourism, H.E. Ahmed Al Khateeb, said “Investing in human capital development is an investment in all our futures. This is a landmark agreement that prioritizes people with a focus on the power of e-learning. Collaborating with UNWTO, we can ensure that development opportunities are accessible worldwide, building the workforce necessary to support a thriving and sustainable future for the sector.”
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