OECD Foreign Tourist Arrivals Report: After the Corona epidemic, the tourism industry across the world is rapidly back on track, but the recovery of all countries has not been the same. Some countries welcomed record numbers of foreign tourists, while others are still facing the impact of the pandemic and other challenges. Recent figures show that the picture of Saudi Arabia and Israel is completely different in terms of tourism. On one hand, Saudi Arabia has become one of the fastest growing tourist centers in the world, while on the other hand, Israel has lagged the most in attracting foreign tourists.
What is the condition of Saudi Arabia?
According to a report based on OECD data, the number of international tourists in Saudi Arabia has increased by 67 percent by 2025 compared to 2019. This is the highest among all the surveyed countries. This was followed by countries like Morocco, Egypt, Brazil and Colombia, where a significant increase in tourism was seen.
Is Saudi Arabia growing?
Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Vision 2030 plan is considered important behind this success. Under this scheme, the government simplified the visa process, increased the number of new industry flights and invested heavily in big projects related to tourism, culture and entertainment. Along with religious tourism, the country is now also emphasizing on adventure, historical places, sea tourism and entertainment activities.
How many people visited Saudi?
According to the annual report of the Ministry of Tourism, a total of 123 million tourists visited Saudi Arabia in the year 2025. About 2.93 crore foreign tourists were included in these. The country earned 304 billion Saudi riyals from tourism, while more than 1 million people got employment in this sector. The special thing was that the share of women among Saudi citizens working in the tourism sector increased to 47 percent.
What is Israel’s position?
On the other hand, the situation in Israel remained worrying. According to the report, the number of foreign tourists coming to the country in 2025 was 71 percent less than in 2019, which is the biggest decline among all the countries included in the survey. Experts believe that after the war that started in October 2023, security concerns kept international tourists away from Israel. This had a direct impact on the tourism industry there.
Read this also – PM Modi Howrah Bridge Boat Ride: Like PM Modi, you too want to see Howrah Bridge by boat, know how to reach here?
Although there was a slight decline in the pace of Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector due to tensions with Iran in the beginning of 2026, this effect was balanced to a great extent by the millions of pilgrims continuously arriving for Hajj and Umrah. The government aims to double the contribution of tourism in the country’s GDP to 10 percent by the year 2030.
Read this also – Bhature doesn’t rise no matter how hard you try? If you make it with this trick, you will become ‘Bhatura Master’.
