The Ministry of Tourism has released its 2025 Annual Statistical Report, highlighting another year of strong growth for Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector and underscoring its expanding role in the Kingdom’s economic transformation under Vision 2030.
Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb said the sector’s performance reflects the continued support and strategic direction of the Kingdom’s leadership, which has positioned tourism as a central pillar of economic diversification and national development.
Al-Khateeb noted that the 2025 results represent more than continued growth, describing them as evidence of tourism’s evolution into a major economic driver. Combined domestic and inbound tourism spending reached a record SAR304 billion, reinforcing the sector’s growing contribution to economic diversification and growth. He added that the industry’s expansion is also generating broader social benefits through job creation, community development, and improvements in quality of life.
Domestic, International Tourists
According to the report, Saudi Arabia welcomed approximately 123 million domestic and international tourists in 2025, an increase of about 6% compared with 2024. Total tourism expenditure rose 7% year-on-year to reach a historic high of SAR304 billion.
The report highlights tourism’s increasing contribution to the national economy. In 2024, the sector directly accounted for 4.9% of GDP, marking a 14% increase from the previous year. This momentum continued into 2025, with the travel account recording a surplus of SAR49.4 billion in the balance of payments, representing more than 61% of total services exports.
The data also points to the diverse factors driving tourism demand across the Kingdom. In 2025, Saudi Arabia received 29.3 million inbound visitors, whose spending totaled SAR176.6 billion. Domestic tourism accounted for 93.3 million trips, generating SAR127.1 billion in spending.
The report shows a significant shift in the profile of international visitors. Non-religious travel purposes accounted for approximately 52% of inbound overnight visits in 2025, up from 44% in 2019, meaning that more than half of all inbound overnight visitors traveled to the Kingdom for reasons other than religious tourism.
Tourism’s social impact also continued to expand. Employment across tourism-related industries reached nearly 1.03 million jobs in 2025. Saudi women represented around 47% of Saudi nationals employed in tourism-related activities, compared with just 5% at the end of 2018, highlighting the sector’s growing role in workforce participation and talent development.
The Ministry of Tourism has invited investors, industry stakeholders, and researchers to review the full 2025 Annual Statistical Report, available on the ministry’s official website.
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