RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s licensed tourism hospitality facilities rose 22.7 percent year on year to 6,122 in the first quarter of 2026, as the Kingdom continued expanding accommodation capacity to support its growing tourism sector.
Data released by the General Authority for Statistics showed serviced apartments and other hospitality facilities accounted for 3,159 licensed establishments, or 51.6 percent of the total, while hotels numbered 2,963, representing 48.4 percent.
Strengthening the hospitality sector is a key goal of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, as the Kingdom aims to become a global tourism hub by the end of this decade as part of its economic diversification efforts.
Having already surpassed the 100 million target, Saudi Arabia’s National Tourism Strategy aims to attract 150 million visitors by 2030.
“The number of tourism establishments in Saudi Arabia with employees stood at approximately 177,031 in the first quarter of 2026, marking a 9 percent increase compared with the same quarter of 2025, when the total stood at 162,473,” said GASTAT.
