Riyadh-Sharikat Mubasher: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia exceeded three million inbound visits per month for the first time in its history, and repeated that for three consecutive months (January to March 2024), according to a new report released by the Mastercard Economics Institute titled, “Travel Trends 2024”.
According to the travel account data from the balance of payments, visitors to the kingdom spent over SAR45 billion, leading to 46% growth in the surplus of the travel account compared to the same period in 2023 with travel account surplus exceeding SAR 24 billion.
The report also disclosed that Egypt saw a 27% year-on-year visitor increase, Morocco’s Q1 arrivals grew by 12.8%, and Dubai’s Q1 tourism numbers jumped 11%.
The UAE ranked 9 in top trending destinations globally in the last 12 months.
Another key finding is the increase in trip duration. Travelers are extending their stays, with tourists in Africa and the Middle East spending an average of three extra days on vacation compared to the global average of one extra day. Interestingly, the report notes an inverse relationship between destination cost and trip length: the cheaper the destination, the longer the stay.
