International tourism, receipts in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: International tourism, receipts was 3.2% in 2020. ▲ Rising
International tourism, receipts in Saudi Arabia, 2003–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism. Measured in % of total exports.
Analysis
Saudi Arabia recorded 3.2% for international tourism, receipts in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 52.9% on the previous year and up 12.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, receipts in Saudi Arabia peaked at 6.9% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 2.1%, in 2012.
That places Saudi Arabia 116th out of 183 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
International tourism, receipts in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % of total exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 3.5% | — |
| 2007 | 2.8% | -20.0% |
| 2008 | 2.1% | -24.1% |
| 2009 | 3.3% | +59.1% |
| 2010 | 2.9% | -13.8% |
| 2011 | 2.5% | -14.1% |
| 2012 | 2.1% | -15.1% |
| 2013 | 2.2% | +6.5% |
| 2014 | 2.6% | +16.4% |
| 2015 | 5.1% | +96.2% |
| 2016 | 6.7% | +30.4% |
| 2017 | 6.2% | -6.3% |
| 2018 | 5.4% | -13.9% |
| 2019 | 6.9% | +27.5% |
| 2020 | 3.2% | -52.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.9% | 2.1% | 3.5% | 4 |
| 2010s | 4.3% | 2.1% | 6.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.2% | 3.2% | 3.2% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More private sector data for Saudi Arabia
- Merchandise trade 44.2% (2025)
- Food imports 13.0% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 70.5% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 254.06 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 1.9% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 15.9% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 310.67 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 8,403 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2433 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 1.69 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, receipts in Saudi Arabia?
- International tourism, receipts in Saudi Arabia was 3.2% in 2020, according to Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
- What is the highest international tourism, receipts recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 6.9% in 2019.
- What is the lowest international tourism, receipts recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.1% in 2012.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for international tourism, receipts?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 116th out of 183 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, receipts rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
- The figures come from Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism, published as part of International tourism, receipts (% of total exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
International tourism receipts are expenditures by international inbound visitors, including payments to national carriers for international transport. These receipts include any other prepayment made for goods or services received in the destination country. They also may include receipts from same-day visitors, except when these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include receipts for passenger transport items. Their share in exports is calculated as a ratio to exports of goods and services, which comprise all transactions between residents of a country and the rest of the world involving a change of ownership from residents to nonresidents of general merchandise, goods sent for processing and repairs, nonmonetary gold, and services.