MANILA: Inbound tourists to Saudi Arabia were 72 percent of the pre-pandemic levels, outperforming any other country by the end of last year, revealed Saudi Tourism Board CEO Fahd Hamidaddin to the Indian news agency PTI.
Talking on the sidelines of the World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit in Manila, he said the Kingdom expects the second-quarter of 2022 results to reach 150 percent.
India remains a key source market
As Saudi Arabia aims to increase the number of inbound tourists, it looks to drive more travelers from India, which has been one of its key source markets.
Hamidaddin feels India is definitely a key market for Saudi, with the government also addressing the issue of accessibility with visas and air connectivity for leisure, business and religious travel.
“Our focus is on air carriers. We want to develop routes from India and grow these routes. We want to promote the destinations with our trade partners from India,” he said.
As pilgrims remain the biggest contributor to Saudi’s inbound tourist numbers, Hamidaddin emphasized that the government is taking measures to make Umrah more accessible, and affordable for travelers from the Muslim world.
“There are people who come to Saudi historically, the Muslims. We are trying to make it a lot easier as far as access is concerned. The message is that we welcome everyone,” asserted Hamidaddin.
He said that Saudi Arabia is currently going through an amazing transformation with tourism at the forefront.
