Dubai, UAE — Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector recorded solid growth in 2025, with total tourist arrivals rising 5.8% year-on-year to 122.6 million and total tourism spending increasing 7.0% to SAR 303.7 billion, according to data compiled by Argaam.
Growth was driven primarily by domestic travel, which reached 93.3 million tourists, up 8.3% from 2024, while inbound visitor numbers declined 1.6% to 29.3 million.
Despite the drop in inbound arrivals, spending by overseas visitors rose 4.8% to SAR 176.6 billion. Domestic tourism spending increased 10.2% to SAR 127.1 billion, Argaam data showed.
Inbound tourism continued to account for the larger share of tourism expenditure, while domestic travel represented the majority of visitor numbers.
Inbound spending remains resilient
Among inbound visitors, religious travel remained the largest segment, accounting for 14.1 million overnight visitors who spent SAR 110.3 billion, an 18% increase in expenditure despite a 1% decline in visitor numbers.
Leisure and holiday travel attracted 7 million visitors, while visits to friends and relatives totalled 4.4 million. Business travel rose 14% to 2.3 million visitors.
Air travel remained the dominant entry channel, accounting for 20.2 million visitors, or 69% of total inbound arrivals, and generating SAR 143.1 billion in spending. Land crossings handled 8.9 million visitors, while sea arrivals totalled about 200,000.
Accommodation services accounted for 33% of inbound tourism spending, followed by shopping at 22% and food and beverage services at 13%.
Egypt leads arrivals, Pakistan tops spending
Egypt ranked as the largest source market for visitors to Saudi Arabia in 2025, with 3.2 million tourists, followed by Pakistan with 2.8 million.
However, Pakistan generated the highest tourism spending at SAR 22 billion, ahead of India at SAR 17.8 billion and Egypt at SAR 15.9 billion.
By region, Asia and the Pacific remained the largest contributor to inbound tourism spending, accounting for SAR 82.9 billion and 10.5 million visitors. Europe recorded some of the strongest growth rates, with visitor numbers rising 17.8% and spending increasing 20.6%.
Domestic travel drives growth
Domestic tourism remained the sector’s main growth engine, with visitor numbers rising to 93.3 million and spending reaching SAR 127.1 billion.
Visits to friends and relatives accounted for 37.7 million overnight visitors, while leisure and holiday trips totalled 30.2 million. Religious travel within the Kingdom rose 21% to 13.8 million visitors, with spending in that segment increasing 32% to SAR 17.3 billion.
Private residences remained the most common accommodation choice for domestic travellers, used by 43% of visitors. Hotels accounted for 26% of tourists but generated the highest average spending per visitor.
Land transport dominated domestic travel, carrying 87.5 million tourists, or 94% of the total, while air travel accounted for 5.8 million visitors and generated a disproportionately larger share of spending.
Makkah attracted the highest number of domestic overnight visitors at 28.6 million, while Riyadh recorded the highest domestic tourism spending at SAR 39.7 billion.
Hospitality sector expands
The hospitality sector continued to expand in 2025, with the number of licensed tourism facilities increasing 34.2% to 5,937.
Licensed hotel rooms rose 25.4% to 597,000, while overall occupancy edged up 0.6%. Average daily room rates declined 2.0% to SAR 385, reflecting the rapid increase in capacity.
The number of licensed hotels climbed 31.6% to 2,847, while licensed apartments and other hospitality facilities increased 36.6% to 3,090.
Contribution to economy grows
Tourism’s direct contribution to Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product increased to nearly 5.2% in 2025, up 0.3 percentage points from a year earlier, according to Argaam.
Employment in the tourism sector rose 6.2% to 1.03 million workers, while the travel account surplus in the balance of payments stood at SAR 49.4 billion.
