The tourist resort sector in the Kingdom recorded unprecedented growth, with the number of active commercial records rising to 16,147 by the end of the second quarter of 2026, compared to 11,240 in the same period of 2025, according to the quarterly business sector bulletin issued by the Ministry of Commerce.

The data showed that the sector added 4,907 new commercial records in one year, a growth rate of 43%, the highest among major tourism activities in the Kingdom.

This growth equates to issuing about 13 new commercial records daily for establishing and operating tourist resorts, reflecting the rising investment interest in this activity, driven by the mega tourism projects underway in the Kingdom.

This expansion coincides with the implementation of major qualitative projects, most notably: the Red Sea, Amaala, NEOM, AlUla, Diriyah, and Asir, in addition to coastal and mountain destination development programs, which have increased demand for establishing resorts and luxury hospitality facilities.

The Ministry of Commerce confirmed that economic activities in the tourism sector continue to grow as a result of government efforts to enhance the status of Saudi cities as attractive tourist destinations, which has stimulated commercial movement in cities, governorates, and villages, positively impacting commercial establishments and small and medium enterprises, supported by rising tourism spending rates.

Growth is not limited to resorts alone; travel and tourism agencies topped tourism activities in terms of number of commercial records with a total of 17,536 records, while tour organization records reached 12,264, and tour guide activities reached 7,963 records by the end of the second quarter of 2026.

Specialists see that the large increase in the number of resorts reflects the Kingdom entering a new phase of tourism investment, with growing demand for domestic and international tourism, and expansion of the private sector in developing hospitality and resort projects, supporting the goals of Vision 2030 aimed at making the Kingdom one of the world's leading tourist destinations.