Gulf
countries driving tourism receipts with visitor numbers up 25% year-on-year;
Saudi tourism companies to showcase Kingdom’s diversity at ATM 2016
Saudi Arabia remains a
popular destination for GCC tourists, with around 7.4 million visitors entering
the Kingdom in the first six months of 2015, which represented an increase of
25% against the same period in 2014, according to official data from the Saudi
Commission for Tourism & National Heritage (SCTNH); a fact that will
underpin the Kingdom’s presence at this year’s Arabian Travel Market (ATM).
A total of 2.1 million
visitors were ‘day visitors’ with the remaining 5.2 million spending nearly SR
11.8 billion and accounting for 30.5 million room nights. In 2014, 6.6 million
Gulf tourists visited Saudi Arabia, spending SR 22 billion.
Bahraini and Kuwaiti
visitors accounted for a large percentage of total inbound GCC visitor numbers,
with 33% each, followed by Qatar and the UAE.
Saudi exhibitors at ATM 2106
will also highlight the future of tourism in the country, which has some
US$11.6 billion worth of tourism projects currently underway.
“A recent report by the Saudi Eastern Province Chamber of
Commerce and Industry stated that tourism contributed 2.7% of the country’s
GDP, with 2014 tourism receipts totalling around US$45.3 billion. While the
bulk of this comes from Hajj and Umrah travel, which accounted for almost US$27
billion, this clearly demonstrates the strong domestic travel market within the
Kingdom, as well as the growing business travel segment,” said Nadege
Noblet-Segers, Exhibition Manager, Arabian Travel Market.
“Hajj
and Umrah travel is also an opportunity for additional revenue generation, with
the authorities reportedly keen to encourage visitors to extend their stay and
discover all that Saudi Arabia has to offer from a leisure perspective. And
with forecasted visitor numbers to the holy sites of Makkah and Madinah set to
rise from 12 million to 17 million visitors per annum by 2025, there is plenty
of opportunity for the country’s tourism sector to benefit.” she added.
Major
tourism-related projects include a number of transportation initiatives
including the new 450- kilometre-long high-speed rail link between Makkah and
Madinah.
Leisure
pursuits are also on the development list, with Saudi Aramco funding 11 new
sports stadia, drawing board plans for the Kingdom’s first large-scale
mixed-use coastal tourist development just south of Dammam, and plans to
develop Taif’s historic Souk Okaz.
“Saudi
Arabia is also a destination of outstanding natural beauty. Madain Saleh, for
example, with its Petra-like Nabatean ruins is a designated UN World Heritage
site, and the coral based Farasan Islands are a protected marine sanctuary,”
said Noblet-Segers.
Participating companies at
ATM 2016 from Saudi Arabia include Mamlakat Al-Asfar Travel & Tourism, Al
Khozama Management Co., E Travel Gate, Saudi Commission for Tourism &
Antiquities, Saudia Airline, Yrbooking.com, Makarem Hotels and Itrip.
ATM 2016 will build on the
success of the previous edition with the announcement of an additional hall as RTE
looks to add to its record-breaking achievements. ATM 2015 witnessed a
year-on-year visitor attendance increase of 15% to over 26,000, with the number
of exhibiting companies rising by 5% to 2,873. Business deals worth more than
US$2.5 billion were signed over the four days.
For more information on
Arabian Travel Market 2016, please visit: www.arabiantravelmarket.com
