Saudi Arabia intends to increase the number of direct flights from India to the kingdom by 19.3% to 290 per week from the existing 243 per week, said Alhasan Aldabbagh, President of APAC Markets, Saudi Tourism Authority. 

“Last year, we welcomed one million Indian visitors who had the highest spend across all our source markets globally due to the visiting friends and relatives (VFR) segment,” he told BW Hotelier, an Indian hospitality magazine.

Saudi Arabia is aiming to double the number of visitations to two million in 2023, he added. 

“We have already welcomed 400,000 Indian travellers during the first quarter of this year, and by 2030, we aim to reach over 12 million Indian visitors,” he stated.

The kingdom is home to 2.6 million Indians.

Saudi Arabia has over 42,000 keys under construction. In 2023 alone, the Red Sea Global project will see the opening of three new hotels in Q4 2023, including Six Senses, St Regis and Nujama – a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Aldabbagh noted.

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com)