Saudi Arabia sees 122.6M tourist arrivals in 2025; spending rises to SAR 303.7B

Saudi Arabia's tourism sector posted 5.8% more arrivals in 2025, hitting 122.6 million. Spending climbed 7% to SAR 303.7 billion.

Domestic tourism drove the bulk of the growth. 93.3 million residents traveled inside the kingdom, up 8.3%. Inbound tourists fell 1.6% to 29.3 million. Yet inbound spending rose 4.8% to SAR 176.6 billion, a sign that each foreign visitor spent more.

Domestic spending reached SAR 127.1 billion, up 10.2%. Visits to friends and relatives plus leisure accounted for 73% of overnight domestic trips. Religious tourism spending jumped 32%.

Egypt sent the most inbound tourists at 3.2 million. Pakistan, the second-largest source market with 2.8 million visitors, topped spending at SAR 22 billion.

The accommodation side expanded fast. Licensed rooms surged 25.4% to 597,000. The average daily rate slipped 2%. Hotels still drew the highest spending per guest compared with private residences and apartments.

Makkah led domestic destinations by overnight visitor count. Riyadh led by total domestic spending.

The tourism sector's share of GDP rose to nearly 5.2%. Employment in the sector increased 6.2%.

Room supply grew 25% while ADR fell 2%. That combination puts pressure on revenue per available room, even as overall visitor numbers increase.