GASTAT Reports Significant Growth In Tourism Employment And Occupancy Rates For Q2 2024

The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) has published its Tourism Establishments Statistics bulletin for the second quarter of 2024. The report highlights a 5.1% rise in the number of employees in tourism activities compared to the same period in 2023. The total workforce in this sector reached 959,175 during this quarter.

Saudi nationals accounted for 245,905 of these employees, representing a participation rate of 25.6%. Meanwhile, non-Saudi employees numbered 713,270, making up 74.4% of the workforce in tourism activities. Male employees dominated this sector with a count of 831,076, equating to an 86.6% participation rate.

Female employees in tourism activities were significantly fewer, totalling 128,099 and accounting for just 13.4% in Q2 of 2024. The data also revealed that employees in tourism activities made up 5.7% of the total workforce across all sectors during this period, which is a slight decline of 0.2 percentage points from Q2 of 2023.

In the private sector specifically, those working in tourism represented 8.6% of all employees, showing a decrease of 0.5 percentage points compared to the previous year’s second quarter. This indicates a shift in employment trends within the broader economic landscape.

The hotel room occupancy rate reached 55.4% during Q2 of 2024, marking an increase of 0.5 percentage points from the same quarter in the previous year. Similarly, serviced apartments and other hospitality facilities saw their occupancy rates rise to 52.4%, reflecting a growth of 1.5 percentage points over Q2 of 2023.

The average daily room rate in hotels was approximately SAR 725.5 during this period, showing a minor decrease of 0.4% compared to Q2 of 2023. Conversely, serviced apartments and other hospitality facilities experienced a significant increase in their average daily room rate to SAR 254.3, up by 15.2% from the previous year.

Guest Stay Duration Trends

The average length of stay for guests at hotels was around 5.2 nights in Q2 of 2024, which is an increase of 17.6% compared to Q2 of the previous year. On the other hand, guests staying at serviced apartments and similar facilities had an average stay duration of only 2.1 nights during this quarter.

This represents a decrease of about 10.9% from Q2 of last year, indicating changing preferences or needs among visitors choosing different types of accommodation options.

GASTAT's data collection for these statistics relies on various sources including administrative records and statistical surveys to provide comprehensive insights into Saudi Arabia's tourism sector dynamics.

With inputs from SPA