Saudi Arabia remains a popular destination for GCC tourists, with around 7.4 million visitors entering the kingdom in the first six months of 2015, an increase of 25 per cent compared to the same period in 2014, according to official data.
A total of 2.1 million visitors were ‘day visitors’ with the remaining 5.2 million spending nearly SR11.8 billion ($3.14 billion) in the kingdom, said the data from the Saudi Commission for Tourism & National Heritage (SCTNH). GCC tourists accounted for 30.5 million room nights during the period.Bahraini and Kuwaiti visitors accounted for a large percentage of the total inbound GCC visitors to Saudi Arabia, accounting for 33 per cent each, followed by Qatar and the UAE.Saudi Arabia’s potential as a destination will be highlighted as the kingdom takes part at this year’s Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai, UAE, from April 25 to 28.Saudi exhibitors at ATM 2106 will highlight the future of tourism in the country, which has some $11.6 billion worth of tourism projects currently under way,' said Nadege Noblet-Segers, exhibition manager, Arabian Travel Market.ATM 2016 will build on the success of the previous edition with an additional hall for exhibitors. The event will showcase more than 2,800 products and destinations from around the world to over 26,000 buyers and travel trade visitors.