Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia’s internal tourism spending reached SAR 121.5 billion ($32.39 billion) in 2018, according to a recent statistical report issued by Tourism Information and Research Center (MAS).
Total spending on domestic tourism in the kingdom amounted to SAR 46.3 billion in 2018, while inbound tourism expenditures totalled SAR 75.2 billion for the same year, data released by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) showed on Monday.
Domestic tourism trips reached 42.7 million over the course of 2018, while inbound tourism trips totalled 15.3 million for the same year.
In the first two months of 2019, local tourism trips rose 4.7% to 8.3 million, compared to 7.9 million in the year-ago period, state-run SCTH noted.
In addition, the number of tourist nights registered 40.8 million from January to February 2019.
Total local tourism expenditures increased 2.9% year-on-year to SAR 8.9 billion in the January-February period of this year from SAR 8.7 billion.
Inbound tourism spending grew 13.6% to SAR 12.5 billion in January and February, compared to SAR 11 billion in the year-ago period.
