Saudi Gazette report

ASIR — Asir led all regions in Saudi Arabia in the number of local trips that included visits to museums and art galleries, with 541,544 visitors recorded in 2023.

This information comes from the 2023 Cultural Status Report published by the Ministry of Culture on its official website and social media accounts.

The report highlighted that Asir’s leadership in cultural tourism is due to its high number of private museums, as well as centers showcasing Asir’s traditional crafts, including Asir cat arts, traditional industries, and honey production.

The region's cultural tourism boom reflects the vibrant and unique cultural tourism components of Saudi Arabia's southern regions, contributing significantly to Asir's high standing in the sector.

Asir also ranked second after Al-Baha region, with 45% in the market share indicators for local and incoming tourist trips that included cultural activities.

The Cultural Tourism Index sheds light on the relationship between culture and tourism, particularly in terms of economic impact.

The data reveals the attractiveness of cultural resources and services to tourists and measures their contribution to economic activity through market share analysis of local and inbound tourist trips that include cultural activities.

Cultural tourism continued its growth in 2023, with a total of approximately 35.2 million local and inbound tourists participating in cultural activities, compared to 22.9 million in 2022.

A significant driver of this growth was the surge in inbound cultural tourism, which saw about 13.77 million incoming tourists in 2023—a growth rate exceeding 145% compared to 2022.

This increase in inbound cultural tourism was accompanied by a rise in its share of total tourist trips, accounting for about 50% of all inbound tourist trips in 2023.

The growth trend aligns with last year’s report, which noted continuous growth in inbound cultural tourism since the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic began to recede in 2021, surpassing domestic cultural tourism, which constituted 26.13% of total domestic tourist trips.

The report attributes this growth to several factors, including regulatory developments in the tourism sector, such as the approval of the tourism system, updated visit visa regulations for tourism, and the development and rehabilitation of historical sites.