Tourism in Saudi Arabia Yields $9.6B in Two Months
September 14, 2019, 12:39 pm

Tourism in Saudi Arabia Yields $9.6B in Two Months

There has been a significant increase in the volume of spending in the domestic tourism sector during the first eight months of 2019, reaching SR33.8 billion from SR 31.3 billion during the same period last year.

Tourist inflow recorded an increase while the outflow of tourists dropped by 5.8 percent during the period, according to a recent report of the Tourism Information and Research Center (MAS) at the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH).

The report pointed out that the domestic tourist traffic registered an increase of 3.4 percent to 30 million trips from January to August 2019 comparing with the same period last year.

There has been a total of 156.5 million tourism nights during the period as against 156.2 million tourism nights in 2018, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The report also showed that the inbound tourism has witnessed a remarkable increase during the past two months with the total tourist trips for the months of July and August 2019, which coincide the annual summer vacation and Haj seasons, account for 3.2 million passengers compared to three million passengers during the same period in 2018.

Their total value of spending reached SR36.2 billion compared to SR33 billion during the same period last year. Inbound tourists spent more than 56 million nights over the last two months, compared to 52.9 million for the same period in 2018.

According to the MAS report, the number of tourists who traveled outside the Kingdom during the period from January to August dropped by 5.8 percent, compared to the same period last year.

The tourist outflow during the annual summer vacation during the months of July and August fell to 4.4 million passengers as against 4.6 million passengers for the same period in 2018.

The report noted that the volume of tourism nights spent by travelers outside the Kingdom in July and August this year accounted for 78.4 million, a decrease of 4.6 percent from the same period in 2018.

They spent nearly SR16.4 billion during this period, down by 5.9 percent from the same summer period last year.

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”