Prime Highlight
- Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector employed over one million workers in Q3 2025, marking a key milestone in building a strong visitor economy under Vision 2030.
- The sector saw rapid growth in hospitality infrastructure, with licensed tourism facilities rising 40.6% year-on-year.
Key Facts
- Non-Saudi nationals make up 75.7% of tourism employees, while Saudi nationals account for 24.3% of the workforce.
- Average hotel room occupancy increased to 49.1%, while serviced apartments had a slight decline to 57.4% in the same period.
Background
Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector continued its rapid expansion in the third quarter of 2025, and the number of workers exceeded one million for the first time. This milestone shows that the Kingdom is working to build a strong visitor economy under its Vision 2030 plan.
According to the latest Tourism Establishments Statistics report from the General Authority for Statistics, tourism employment reached approximately 1,009,691 workers during the quarter. The sector added 6.4% more workers than in the same period in 2024, when it employed 948,629 people.
The rise in jobs came alongside strong growth in hospitality infrastructure. The number of licensed tourism hospitality facilities increased by 40.6% year on year to 5,622. Serviced apartments and similar facilities made up 52.6% of the total, while hotels accounted for 47.4%.
The report showed that non-Saudi nationals continued to dominate the tourism workforce. Around 764,520 foreign workers were employed in the sector, representing 75.7% of the total. Saudi nationals accounted for 245,171 jobs, or 24.3%.
Men made up the majority of tourism employees, with 875,658 workers, while women totaled 134,033, representing 13.3% of the workforce.
Hotel performance also improved during the quarter. Average room occupancy rose to 49.1%, up from 46.1% a year earlier. However, serviced apartments saw a slight drop in occupancy to 57.4%.
Hotel room rates declined by 3.6% to an average of SR341, while serviced apartment rates increased by 4.1% to SR208. Average stay length edged lower across both segments.
GASTAT said the data reflect administrative records, surveys, and secondary sources tracking tourism activity across the Kingdom.
