Saudi Arabia achieved a record spending by visitors coming to the Kingdom of SAR100 billion ($26.67 billion) until the end of the third quarter of 2023, according to new data.

The data on the travel item in the balance of payments issued by the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia (SAMA) reveals this historical number, said a Saudi Ministry of Tourism post in X (formerly Twitter).

The travel item in the balance of payments achieved a surplus estimated at SAR37.8 billion riyals, and a growth rate of 72% compared to the surplus achieved during the same period in 2022, it said.

These achievements come at a time when tourism in Saudi Arabia has achieved full recovery, with the rate of recovery jumping to 150% compared to levels before the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, during which various tourist destinations witnessed an increase in the numbers of visitors from within the kingdom and abroad, said a report in Saudi Gazette.

This is confirmed by reports issued by the World Tourism Organization, which revealed that Saudi Arabia topped the G20 countries in the growth rate of the number of incoming tourists during the first three quarters of 2023.

Saudi Arabia also emerged as second fastest growing tourist destinations in the world, the report said.

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