Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) revealed that the total number of people working in tourism activities in the Kingdom reached 966,500 during the fourth quarter of 2024. This figure marks an increase of four percent over the same quarter in 2023, when the number stood at 929,400.

The number of Saudis working in tourism activities reached 242,000, representing 25 percent of the total, while the number of non-Saudi workers reached 724,400. The GASTAT report showed that the number of male workers in tourism activities reached 837,900, representing 86.7 percent of the total, while the number of female workers in tourism activities reached 128,600, representing 13.3 percent of the total workers in tourism activities during the fourth quarter of last year.

The report noted that those employed in tourism activities represent 5.5 percent of those engaged in various economic activities in the fourth quarter of 2024, a decrease of 0.3 percent compared to the same period of 2023, when it was 5.8 percent. The percentage of those employed in tourism activities also reached 8.2 percent of the total private sector workforce, a decrease of 0.8 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2023.

According to the GASTAT, the hotel room occupancy rate reached approximately 56 percent during the fourth quarter of 2024, a decrease of 4.3 percentage compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, when it stood at 60.2 percent. This decrease is due to the increase in the number of licensed hotels.

The room occupancy rate in serviced apartments and other hospitality facilities reached 55.9 percent during the fourth quarter of 2024, an increase of 0.5 percent compared to the same quarter of 2023, when it reached 55.4 percent. The number of licensed tourism hospitality facilities increased at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, reaching 4400 hospitality facilities, including 2,163 hotels and 2,262 serviced apartments and other hospitality facilities.

The authority stated that the average daily rate for a hotel room reached approximately SR440 in the fourth quarter of 2024, a 2.1 percent decrease from the same quarter of 2023, when it was SR449. This decrease is due to the increase in the number of licensed hotels.

The average daily rate for a room in serviced apartments and other hospitality facilities reached SR220 during the same quarter, an increase of 25.1 percent from the fourth quarter of 2023, when it stood at SR176, the report pointed out.