Saudi Arabia outbound tourism: an analysis of trends and destinations

Saudi Arabia is one of the world's most important tourist generating markets. In 2018, an estimated 21.8 million Saudis engaged in international travel ranking fifteenth worldwide as a tourist outbound market. This study is an analysis of Saudi Arabian international-outbound tourism, 2002-2018. The research focuses on two aspects of Saudi tourism; the growth of outbound tourism and destination trends. The study finds that the growth of Saudi international tourism in largely a result of a ‘push factors' within the nation and Saudi wealth. Saudi outbound choice is largely influenced by geographic proximate, politically stable, ‘liberal’ Muslim countries. Trending data indicate emerging new destinations for Saudi international tourists. But capturing the $20 billion annual expenditure on outbound tourism may be elusive given Saudi preference to vacation in proximate, culturally familiar places.