Saudi Arabia’s hospitality sector continued to show robust growth in the first quarter of 2025, with hotel occupancy levels exceeding 60% and the tourism workforce approaching one million employees, according to new data released by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).
Rising hotel occupancy
The room occupancy rate in hotels reached 63% during Q1 2025, an increase of 2.1 percentage points compared to the same quarter in 2024, when occupancy was 60.9%. However, serviced apartments and other hospitality facilities saw a decline, with occupancy falling to 50.7%, down from 54.5% a year earlier.
The growth in hotel activity coincided with a sharp increase in the number of licensed establishments. By the end of Q1 2025, Saudi Arabia had 4,988 licensed hospitality facilities, including 2,414 hotels and 2,574 serviced apartments and other facilities. This represents an increase of 77.9% compared to Q1 2024, when the total stood at 2,802.
Room rates and guest stays
The average daily room rate in hotels during the quarter was SAR 477 (USD 127), down 3.4% compared to SAR 494 (USD 132) in Q1 2024. By contrast, serviced apartments and other facilities recorded an increase, with average daily rates rising 7.2% year-on-year to SAR 209 (USD 56), up from SAR 195 (USD 52).
The average length of stay in hotels remained stable at 4.1 nights, while stays in serviced apartments and other hospitality facilities averaged 2.3 nights, up from 2.2 in the same quarter last year.
Workforce expansion in tourism
Employment in tourism activities also grew strongly. Total employment reached 983,253 workers, up 4.1% compared to Q1 2024. Of these, 243,369 were Saudi nationals, representing 24.8% of the sector’s workforce, while 739,884 were non-Saudi employees, accounting for 75.2%.
Male employees made up the majority of the sector’s workforce at 86.8% (853,852 workers), while female employees increased to 129,401, representing 13.2% of total employment—an important rise from 13.1% in Q1 2024.
Economic contribution
Tourism activities accounted for 5.4% of total employment in the Saudi economy during the quarter, a slight decrease of 0.3 percentage points compared to Q1 2024. Within the private sector, tourism employees represented 7% of the total workforce, also marginally lower than the 7.5% reported a year earlier.
Outlook
The figures underscore the ongoing expansion of Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector under Vision 2030, with higher hotel occupancy rates, a growing number of licensed facilities, and steady job creation. While hotel room rates softened slightly, the increase in serviced apartment pricing suggests rising demand in this segment. Meanwhile, the expansion of female participation reflects broader national objectives for economic diversification and inclusion.
Source: General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), “Tourism Establishments Statistics – Q1 of 2025.”
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