This handout picture obtained from the Royal Commission for AlUla shows tourists walking toward the Harat viewpoint, overlooking Dadan, Al-Ula Old Town and other landscapes, in northwestern Saudi Arabia on Jan 26, 2024. (HANDOUT / ROYAL COMMISSION FOR ALULA / AFP)
Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector is booming after a banner year when the Arab kingdom welcomed more than 140,000 Chinese travelers among 100 million tourists, surpassing its 2030 goal seven years ahead of schedule.
Gloria Guevara Manzo, the chief special advisor at the Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia, told China Daily that China was in the top three countries that “we would want to grow the most”.
“Let's remember China also took more time after the pandemic to (fully) open and to allow outbound travel. And what we received last year was 140,000 Chinese,” Manzo, who is also former Secretary of Tourism of Mexico and former CEO and President of the World Travel and Tourism Council, said in a video interview on March 13.
Authorities have recently launched a Chinese version of the VisitSaudi website and Chinese-language signs are in place at the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. The first batch of Saudi hoteliers and travel agents have also been sent to China for training
“That's a lot, considering the fact that we didn't have that many (Chinese visitors) before,” she added.
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“Let's remember also that we opened in 2019,” she said, referring to Saudi Arabia’s welcoming of international tourists with the introduction of year-long multiple-entry visas in September 2019.
“Then, of course, came COVID, and we had to close, and then we reopened, but little by little. Some countries opened later, and especially countries in Asia,” she added.
Riyadh’s ambitious tourism plans — which saw them target 100 million visitors by 2030 — were hijacked by the COVID-19 pandemic just as the Muslim-majority country had begun opening its doors to tourists who were not visiting for religious purposes.
Opening up travel was part of Vision 2030 — a grand economic diversification plan introduced by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud in 2016. Expanding the tourism sector’s GDP from 3 percent to 10 percent by 2030 was one of its goals.
“We’re doing a lot of work to welcome more Chinese to come to the kingdom and hopefully, we will be able to see an important growth,” said Manzo.
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According to her, a lot of work has been done to boost connectivity, such as increased flights, as well as scaling up the training of tour guides to speak Mandarin.
The Saudi Ministry of Tourism is aiming for China to be among its top three markets by 2030 and is targeting 5 million Chinese travelers by then, it told China Daily.
Authorities have recently launched a Chinese version of the VisitSaudi website and Chinese-language signs are in place at the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. The first batch of Saudi hoteliers and travel agents have also been sent to China for training.
Saudi Arabia has signed agreements with Chinese travel giants Trip.com and Ctrip, as well as Skyscanner, to drive awareness and bookings, in addition to establishing strategic partnerships with Chinese tech giants like Huawei, Alibaba, and WeChat.
This handout picture obtained from the Royal Commission for AlUla, shows Saudi men riding their horses past the Maraya (Mirror), the world's largest mirrored building, in the desert canyon of Ashar Valley in Saudi Arabia's northwestern Al-Ula desert, on Jan 28, 2024. (HANDOUT / ROYAL COMMISSION FOR ALULA / AFP)
Expanding direct flights is also in the pipeline. There has been an agreement with Hainan Airlines to launch two new air routes in the second quarter of this year while China Southern Airlines is set to launch direct flights between Beijing and Riyadh in April and between Shenzhen and Riyadh in June.
The latest visitor figures from China surpassed pre-pandemic levels, which were at an estimated 111,000 in 2019.
Manzo said that Chinese tourists like visiting major cities and cultural locations, like Jeddah and AlUla.
“It's very interesting that the culture is getting their attention,” she said, noting that Chinese visitors also like Saudi traditions and hospitality.
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“The Chinese like to explore,” Manzo said, adding that astronomy has been an area of interest for tourists from China.
According to Manzo, Saudi Arabia’s record 100 million visitors in 2023 was made up of 77 million domestic and 27 million international tourists. She said that the increase in tourism also created 1 million jobs
According to Manzo, Saudi Arabia’s record 100 million visitors in 2023 was made up of 77 million domestic and 27 million international tourists. She said that the increase in tourism also created 1 million jobs.
The tourists traveled for leisure, visiting family and friends, and MICE — meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions.
Manzo attributed the robust figures to Saudi Arabia’s clear vision and ambition, efforts to boost infrastructure spending, and investment.
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“It’s also important to highlight that Saudis are also discovering their own country,” said Manzo.
She noted that there are also increasing visitors from within the region, such as other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
While Manzo attributed the country’s success to a combination of many factors, she said that it was “good news” that they hit the Vision 2030 target of 100 million visitors seven years early.
“Now, the challenging news is that from that 100 million, it has been increased to 150 million (by 2030),” said Manzo.
