Saudi inflation rate remains unchanged at 2.7% in April: GASTAT  

RIYADH: Amid world financial uncertainties triggered by excessive inflation, geopolitical tensions, and rising rates of interest, Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector is rapidly recovering, in keeping with skilled companies community agency PwC Center East. 

In its newest report, PwC Center East revealed that the Kingdom obtained nearly 6 million guests within the fourth quarter of 2022, up 47 % in comparison with the identical quarter in 2019.

It famous that regulatory reforms and the event of sights just like the Riyadh Season pageant are driving the tourism sector within the Kingdom, which goals to obtain 25 million vacationers this 12 months, which is 43 % greater than in 2019. 

Saudi Arabia’s Nationwide Tourism Technique goals to draw 100 million guests by 2030, together with growing the contribution of the sector to the Kingdom’s gross home product to greater than 10 %. The technique additionally eyes creating an extra 1 million jobs within the Kingdom. 

The report additional famous that Saudi Arabia’s Imaginative and prescient 2030 is offering a strong framework for shaping the Kingdom’s economic system. 

“Saudi Arabia’s economic system has proven nice progress because the launch of Imaginative and prescient 2030… The Kingdom’s elevated concentrate on variety has enabled the nation to guide its financial sustainability agenda on a bigger scale,” mentioned Faisal Al-Sarraj, associate and KSA deputy nation chief at PwC Center East. 

Al-Sarraj added: “This solely offers us extra optimism that the longer term for the Kingdom expands past Imaginative and prescient 2030 and can proceed to guide by instance by revolutionary options and transformation.” 

The report mentioned that Saudi Arabia has already outperformed a number of the objectives outlined in Imaginative and prescient 2030, reminiscent of feminine workforce participation which surged to 36 %, already forward of the 2030 goal of 30 %. 

“In the meantime, financial diversification plans are paying off — the share of the non-oil economic system is at 59 %, with non-oil GDP in 2022 being 15 % bigger in actual phrases and 28 % in nominal phrases in comparison with the pre-vision baseline,” the report added. 

The report additional identified that international locations within the Gulf Cooperation Council are “considerably insulated from the worldwide rocky restoration, supported by oil costs and robust sovereign and company steadiness sheets.”