Over 6 mln pilgrims perform Umrah during ongoing season.

ISLAMABAD -- Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb described the performance of the Saudi tourism sector during the first quarter of 2023 as unprecedented and historical in terms of the number of visitors and amount of tourism spending.

'Over six million pilgrims have performed Umrah during the current season while the percentage of incoming tourists for the purpose of entertainment and holidays shot up 581 percent in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in 2019, thanks to the simplified electronic visa procedures and remarkable growth in facilities and services in the Kingdom's tourist destinations,' he said.

The minister made the remarks while attending his monthly meeting with investors in the Saudi tourism sector. Saudi Tourism Authority Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Fahd Hamidaddin and a large number of stakeholders and investors in the tourism sector from various regions of the Kingdom attended the virtual meeting.

Al-Khateeb stressed that the ministry would never neglect three issues that are at the core of its work, which were high quality, compliance with the necessary licenses to practice the activity, and Saudize jobs in the tourism sector.

The minister emphasized that the results achieved by the Kingdom's tourism sector during the holy month of Ramazan were amazing and unprecedented. The number of Umrah pilgrims from inside and outside Saudi Arabia has exceeded six million, and the occupancy rate in the hospitality sector in...