JEDDAH – Saudis are expected to spend around SR19.5 billion ($5.1 billion) on their summer vacations, marking an 8 percent rise on last year, a local Arabic newspaper reported Tuesday.



The number of trips from Saudi is expected to reach 6 million this summer, while foreign tourists are expected to make 4.8 million trips to the Kingdom, according to a report by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities.



Internal trips within Saudi Arabia are expected to amount to 5.3 million over summer, said the paper, citing the official report. All the figures have increased since last summer, it added.



The GCC countries are expected to welcome 45.5 percent of Saudi tourists, while Middle Eastern countries will be the destination for 33.9 percent.



South Asian countries are set to receive 9.9 percent, and the remaining 10.6 percent will head toward countries in Africa, America, Eastern Asia and the Pacific Ocean, the paper said.



According to the report, several studies showed that Saudi Arabia’s internal tourism has grown by 5 percent, due to the efforts made by the Commission and other tourism development arms to promote local attractions, said the paper.



The report expects that the 42 festivals planned for the summer should create 4,500 work opportunities, and are expected to see over 10 million visitors, with economic revenues reaching 10bn riyals.



A survey by Visa released earlier this year showed that Saudi Arabians are the world’s biggest spenders abroad, with Saudi tourists spending an average of $6,666 per trip.



“Cross-border tourism is thriving and travelers intend to increase budgets for their next trip by an average of five percent,” the payment provider said last April. — SG