Saudi Arabia’s domestic tourism is further gaining strength, with local travellers spending more money last year to explore destinations around the kingdom, according to the latest data.

Booking expenditures of Saudi travellers went up by 10.8% last year, while most consumers (75%) chose to book local destinations with low-cost carriers, data from travel company Almosafer, part of Seera Group, showed.

“This indicates that domestic travellers are spending more on in-destination expenses, including accommodation and activities, while saving on their journeys,” the travel firm said in a report published on Monday.

The report, which draws on data insights collated from Almosafer’s consumer platforms in 2023, also found that nearly half (40%) of the total bookings made in the last 12 months came from the domestic sector.

Most local travellers (83%) also had a strong preference for luxury accommodations, while their trips averaged around two nights.

Among the destinations in Saudi Arabia, AlUla emerged as the top destination of choice among luxury travellers, while Jazan and Tabuk were winter favourites.

Abha was the popular destination for families looking to spend the summer break, while Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Makkah & Madinah emerged as the most popular in terms of room nights sold.

The Saudi government is looking to attract 150 million visitors annually by 2030, of which 50% will be domestic travellers.

Saudi’s domestic tourism has shown a strong recovery since the pandemic, with the number of domestic tourists hitting a record high of 63.8 million in 2021, up by 34% from 2019, according to OECD. Domestic tourism receipts also posted a new high of SAR80.9 billion ($21.6 billion), exceeding 2019 by 32%.

(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria) seban.scaria@lseg.com