Saudi Arabia Tops Arab Nations With 18 Million visitors Until Q3 2022

Saudi Arabia has emerged as the Arab country with the most tourists in the first nine months of 2022, with 18 million visitors to the country.

Figures released by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation show that Saudi Arabia attracted more than 18 million visitors in the first three quarters of 2022, followed by the UAE with 14.8 million tourists and Morocco with 11 million tourists.

The Saudi government aims to attract 100 million visitors a year by the end of the decade.

With such unprecedented numbers, the sector will be the focus of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2023, which takes place from 1-4 May at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

This year’s Saudi Summit will take place on the global stage of the Arabian Travel Market, highlighting the Kingdom’s role in reshaping the regional travel and tourism scene as mega-projects get underway.

A group of Saudi exhibiting companies will participate in Arabian Travel Market 2023 and the Saudi Summit, including Saudi Airlines, Flynas, Asma Hospitality, Ain Riyadh, Saudi Amad for Airport Services and Air Transport, iTrip, Dar Hospitality, and many others.

Saudi Arabia Summit 2023 will provide an ideal platform from which travel professionals and decision-makers from across the Middle East and beyond can explore the opportunities and challenges in the Kingdom’s growing tourism sector, said ATM’s exhibition director for the Middle East, Danielle Curtis.

She expects Saudi Arabia to be strongly represented at the next edition of ATM, thanks to upcoming mega developments such as the NEOM and Red Sea projects, as well as the Kingdom’s recent visa reforms and travel sector changes.

Tourism spending in Saudi Arabia also increased last year, reaching US$7.2 billion in the first half of 2022, according to figures released by the country’s Ministry of Investment.

Leading travel experts from around the world will highlight these statistics as part of their Saudi-focused presentations, sessions, and panel discussions.

In line with this year’s theme of ‘Working towards Net Zero Emissions’, ATM 2023 will explore how to develop innovative sustainable travel trends, allowing delegates to define growth strategies, while providing an ideal platform for regional experts to explore a sustainable future ahead of the COP28 climate conference to be held at Dubai Expo City in November 2023.

For the first time in its history, Arabian Travel Market has announced the addition of a sustainability category to its exhibitor awards.

Exhibiting companies will be recognized based on the extent to which they consider their environmental impact and their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint.

The event is organized in partnership with the Dubai World Trade Center and its strategic partners are Dubai Tourism as the destination partner, Emirates Airlines as the official airline partner, IHG Hotels and Resorts as the official hotel partner, and Al Rais Travels as the official partner of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre.