RIYADH — Saudi Arabia ranked 13th globally, advancing by 12 places, on the World Tourism Organization (WTO) index, among the top countries receiving international tourists in 2022. It was placed 25th in 2019.

The number of international tourists who visited the Kingdom, for all travel purposes, hit 16.6 million in 2022, WTO reported.

The Kingdom also advanced 16 places in the international tourism revenue index, hitting 11th place in 2022, compared to 27th place in 2019 globally, according to the World Tourism Barometer report for May 2023 issued by the WTO.

The Kingdom continued to make progress in the tourism sector, receiving about 7.8 million international visitors for various purposes during the first quarter of 2023. This represents the sector's highest quarterly performance, up 64% compared to the same period in 2019. The country also reached second on the list of the fastest-growing tourism destinations during the period, according to the latest data from WTO.

Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb confirmed that this achievement is an addition to the other successes of the Kingdom in various fields and a culmination of the directives of the leadership to continue enhancing the Kingdom's position on the global tourism map, and raising its contribution to the gross domestic product under the Kingdom's Vision 2030.

He pointed out that facilitating travel visa procedures, planning promotional campaigns in the target countries, and the diversity of tourism destinations in the Kingdom were among the reasons for these achievements.

The minister stressed that the ministry will renew its cooperation with its partners from the public and private sectors to push toward transforming the Kingdom into a global tourism hub.

The Kingdom accomplished a new achievement within the Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) issued by the World Economic Forum (WEF), marking the 33rd position globally, advancing ten ranks compared to 2019. — SPA