There is no doubt that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the largest Arab countries in terms of geographical area; its area exceeds the two million barriers, and the terrain varies in relation to the breadth of the area, contributing to its status as one of the most touristic countries in the Arab world.
Many aspects of tourism are enjoyed by the Kingdom, including natural elements, religious elements, historical elements, and cultural elements. Tourism elements in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia contributed to the development of tourism in Saudi Arabia, making the Kingdom one of the tourist countries.
In this article, we will discuss four tourism components of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as tourist attraction components in the Kingdom. Furthermore, the future of tourism in Saudi Arabia and the extent of tourism development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are discussed.
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Four of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s tourism components
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has many ingredients that contribute to attracting tourists to the Kingdom to enjoy what it has to offer. The elements of tourism in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia make it a source of strength and interest for many visitors, as well as a strong competitor in the field of tourism to many European countries.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s tourism components vary, with the most important being:
1- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Natural tourism components
Let us answer the question: What are the most prominent elements of tourism in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in terms of Saudi Arabia’s geographical nature? Natural tourism components in Saudi Arabia include the following:
- The Kingdom has many green areas with plants and herbs, not to mention palms and trees. Discover Saudi Arabia’s most beautiful green spaces.
- The Kingdom has beautiful springs and water wells, not to mention the plains, mountains, and valleys.
- You can enjoy the desert, beaches, and seas, as well as the moderate temperature of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is suitable for all nationalities.
- The Kingdom has unique nature reserves, the most notable of which are the Farasan Islands.
2- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Religious tourism components
One of the most important aspects of tourism in the Kingdom is religious elements. Because of the presence of religious sanctuaries, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a very high ranking among all countries in the world. Especially since it houses one of the Kingdom’s most important religious sites, the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque.
Annually, Saudi Arabia receives a large number of visitors from within and outside the Kingdom to perform Hajj or Umrah, which has a significant impact on Saudi tourism. As the number of pilgrims visiting Saudi Arabia grows each year, it is expected that the number of pilgrims will reach 5 million pilgrims in 2025.
It is well known that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia attracts many Arab and non-Arab tourists due to its many religious monuments, which attract visitors from all sides and descendants. The following are religious components of tourism in the Kingdom:
- Pay a visit to Medina and Al-Baqi’.
- Entering the Mosque of the Prophet.
- Makkah Al-Mukarramah and the Holy Kaaba are only for Muslims.
- Paying a visit to the tomb of the Prophet of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him.
- Drinking from the Zamzam well, which is blessed by Muslims.
3- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Historical tourism components
The rate of tourism in Saudi Arabia is increasing in relation to the Kingdom’s components and factors, particularly the historical and archaeological components. We will discuss the historical components of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the following points:
- Mada’in Saleh, which is in the Al-Ula province.
- The rock carvings were discovered in Hail.
- Pre-existing mosques
- The Masmak Palace
- Diriyah’s old city.
- Palaces, temples, and cemeteries
- Marid and Tarout castles. Not to mention the Hima wells, which consist of six rocky wells and thirteen sites with drawings depicting hunting scenes, grazing scenes, dances and musical instruments, and so on.
- Al-Ahsa Oasis, is one of the most famous palm oases, with over three million palm trees, and one of the heritage sites added to the UNESCO list.
And other tourist attractions in the Kingdom that attract Arabs and foreigners, Muslims and non-Muslims. Discover the top 12 tourist attractions in Saudi Arabia.
4- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Civilized tourism components
Civilized tourism components are regarded as one of the most important aspects of the Kingdom’s tourist attractions. As the Saudi government and the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities have taken care of all of the Kingdom’s cities and established numerous urban projects to promote tourism in Saudi Arabia. Discover modern Saudi Arabia’s most prominent landmarks and the most beautiful Saudi cities!! Which should be on every traveler’s list
In addition to hosting numerous tourist and recreational events and activities in order to attract the greatest number of visitors to the Kingdom. Learn about Riyadh events as well as the Jeddah season.
The following are some of the modern tourist attractions in Saudi Arabia:
- Constructing skyscrapers with modern and beautiful architectural forms pique the interest and attention of tourists.
- Extensive lists of recent constructions
- Taif, Asir, and Riyadh have modern urban styles.
- Bridges and tunnels, as well as modern transportation methods.
- The King’s Fountain, which is one of the tallest fountains in the world, is located in Jeddah.
- The Kingdom benefits greatly from infrastructure projects
- in terms of communication networks and their organization.
- Transportation projects for all tourists, including air, sea, and land transportation.
- Tourist resorts, ships, yachts, and wonderful hotels in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia offer all tourist services.
What is the expected number of tourists in Saudi Arabia in 2020?
It is widely acknowledged that tourism is an important factor in the advancement of any country’s economy, particularly countries with tourist attractions from historical, urban, natural, and religious factors, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is regarded as one of the countries with all types of tourism components.
Visitors from all walks of life used to flock to the Kingdom but is the status of tourist trips and the number of visitors still the same as it was in the year two thousand and nineteen AD, in relation to the spread of the new Coronavirus and the imposition of precautionary measures that limited a specific percentage of visitors and, in some cases, prevented travel and reception visitors.
Domestic flight passengers totaled twenty-four million in the previous year, up from fifty-four million in the year two thousand and nineteen AD.
The number of passengers on international flights was thirteen million, three hundred and fifty-nine thousand and one hundred and twenty-one, compared to the number of tourists in Saudi Arabia in 2019, which was forty-eight million, seven hundred and ninety-six thousand five hundred and twenty-eight.
The Saudi tourism industry’s future
Because of the large number of Arab and non-Arab tourists who visit the Kingdom, tourism contributes to the advancement of the state’s economy and the possession of a variety of foreign and hard currency. This is one of the reasons why the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is interested in Saudi tourism components.
Tourism development in Saudi Arabia?
Yes, the Kingdom now has a vision of thirty-three, which deals with a wide range of different aspects of upgrading the Kingdom, including the economy, tourism, transportation, entertainment, products, and so on, and we will discuss the goals of Vision 2030 related to tourism below:
- The Red Sea Project, which includes more than fifty natural islands between Al Wajh and Umluj; and the NEOM project, or future city, which is based on the most advanced smart technologies of the future on the Red Sea coasts.
- Qiddiya Tourist City is a cultural, sports, and entertainment project southwest of the capital with over 300 educational and recreational facilities.
- The Amala project in the northwest of the Kingdom for luxury tourism based on health, treatment, and convalescence.
- Festivals are launched in various regions throughout the Kingdom as tourism components.
- Promote traditional tourism in the cities of Abha, Taif, and Al Baha.
- Preparing local citizens to welcome tourists, even if it is in exchange for renting a shelter and services required by every tourist because some citizens have previously complained about the presence of tourists in a large area.
- Providing all of the facilities that tourists require, such as hygiene and toilets, as well as tourist accommodation facilities.
- The Ministry of Environment’s interested in resolving environmental problems that tourists face, particularly visual pollution. Agricultural rural tourism in agricultural areas in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia requires special attention and promotion.
Conclusion
At the end of this article, we discussed four tourism components of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that have a significant impact on the Saudi tourism sector. We mentioned that natural, religious, historical, and civilizational components are among the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s tourism components.
In addition to many landmarks, heritage, and cultural sites mentioned in ancient Arabic poetry throughout the Kingdom. In addition, many regions of the Kingdom and their locations are mentioned in the Prophet’s biography in the stories of the invasions and the Companions, which are considered tourism components of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
In this article, we also discussed the future of tourism in Saudi Arabia and the role of tourism components in the development of tourism in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Aside from the number of tourists in Saudi Arabia in 2020.
Also read: Top Eco-Tourism Destination in Saudi Arabia 2022