The tourism sector in Saudi Arabia recorded remarkable growth during the fourth quarter of 2024, as the General Authority for Statistics revealed that the number of people employed in tourism activities reached about 966,539, an increase of 4% compared to the same period in 2023, which recorded 929,405 people. This increase was driven by a 6% increase in the number of non-Saudi employees to reach 724,422, while the number of Saudi employees witnessed a slight decline by 1% to reach 242,117.
The number of Saudi employees declined slightly by 1% to reach 242,117. <Males still constitute the vast majority of the labor force in the tourism sector with approximately 87%, equivalent to 837,929 employees, while the number of female employees amounted to 128,610, equivalent to only 13%. The activity of providing food and drink is the most labor-absorbing activity, with about 637,906 workers, followed by the activity of accommodation of visitors with 131,925 workers, then land transportation with 92,518, followed by souvenir and heritage trade with 38,382, travel agency and reservation services with 27,579, tourism-related rental services with 20,279, air transportation with 13,500, and cultural and recreational activities with 4,450.
<At the level of administrative regions, the Riyadh region topped the list of regions with the highest number of people employed in tourism activities with 320,683, followed by the Makkah region with 269,079, the Eastern region with 146,915, the Medina region with 59,300, Asir region with 38,235, Jazan region with 25,610, Tabuk region with 20,197, Qassim region with 19,006, Hail region with 16,610, Najran region with 15,652, Al-Jouf region with 10,378, Al-Baha region with 9,323, and finally the Northern Borders region with only 5,551 employees.
<Regarding the occupancy of tourist accommodation facilities, the authority revealed that the average occupancy rate in hotels during the fourth quarter of 2024 reached 56.1%, while the average occupancy of furnished residential units reached 55.9%. The Medina region recorded the highest hotel occupancy rate with 74.8%, followed by Riyadh with 72.1%, the Eastern Province with 60.1%, Makkah with 57.2%, Qassim with 55.3%, Asir with 52.1%, and the Jazan region with 55.3%.1%, Jazan region with 45.2%, Najran region with 38.7%, Tabuk region with 35.8%, and Hail region with 33.2%, Northern Borders at 31.8%, Al Jouf at 29.2%, and finally Al Baha at 26.8%. <As for the occupancy of furnished residential units, Riyadh topped the list with 71.5%, followed by Eastern Province with 66.1%, Qassim with 64.3%, Asir with 60.4%, Makkah with 53.1%, Tabuk with 52.8%, Medina region at 49.7%, Najran region at 49.2%, Al Jouf region at 40.8%, Hail region at 40.6%, Jazan at 35.5%, Northern Borders at 30.2%, and finally Al Baha at 29.2%. <In terms of prices, the average price per night in hotels across the Kingdom during the fourth quarter of 2024 amounted to 440.1 riyals, compared to 449.5 riyals in the same period of 2023, recording a decrease of 2%. The average price per night in furnished apartments amounted to 219.6 SAR, compared to 176.1 SAR in the previous year, a significant increase of 25%.
The Riyadh region recorded an average price of 440.1 SAR, compared to 449.5 SAR in the same period of 2023, a decrease of 2%. <The Riyadh region recorded the highest average price per night in hotels at 1,007 riyals, followed by Makkah at 604 riyals, Medina at 539 riyals, Eastern Province at 463 riyals, Asir at 442 riyals, Qassim at 404 riyals, and Tabuk at with 367 riyals, Hail region with 332 riyals, Al-Jouf region with 308 riyals, Al-Baha region with 297 riyals, Najran region with 277 riyals, Jazan region with 264 riyals, and finally the Northern Borders region with 236 riyals.
As for Furnished apartments, Makkah recorded the highest average price per night at SR350, followed by Madinah at SR342, Riyadh at SR326, Qassim at SR249, Tabuk at SR230, and Eastern Province with 229 riyals, Hail Province with 178 riyals, Najran Province with 176 riyals, Asir Province with 171 riyals, Al-Jouf Province with 137 riyals, Jazan Province with 113 riyals, Al-Baha Province with 106 riyals, and finally the Northern Borders Province with 94 riyals.
<As for the average length of stay, it reached 3.6 nights in hotels during the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to 3.5 nights in the same period last year. The Makkah region recorded the highest average length of stay in hotels with 4.1 nights, followed by the Medina region with 4.0 nights, the Asir region with 3.9 nights, the Riyadh region with 3.8 nights, the Eastern region with 3.6 nights, the Qassim region with 3.6 nights, and the Najran region with 3.5 nights.4 nights, Najran region 3.1 nights, Al Jouf region 2.9 nights, Northern Borders region 2.8 nights, Tabuk region 2.6 nights, Jazan region 2.1 nights, Hail region 1.6 nights, and finally Al Baha region 1.6 nights. <For furnished apartments, the average length of stay was 2.1 nights in Q4 2024, compared to 2.4 nights in Q4 2023. Makkah recorded the longest length of stay with an average of 2.7 nights, followed by Medina with 2.6 nights, Qassim with 2.5 nights, Riyadh with 2.3 nights, Northern Borders with 2.3 nights, Al Jouf with 2.3 nights, and Asir with 2.2.2 nights, Asir region with 2.2 nights, Najran region with 2.1 nights, Eastern Province with 2.0 nights, Jazan region with 2.0 nights, Tabuk region with 2.0 nights, Hail region with 1.6 nights, and finally Al Baha region with 1.5 nights.
