Middle East Tourism Outpaces Global Growth in 2025 as Gulf Nations Shift Away From Oil

2026-04-29 global

London, Wednesday, 29 April 2026.
Driven by a massive 55 percent surge in Saudi Arabian business travel, the Middle East’s tourism sector grew by 5.3 percent in 2025, successfully outpacing global averages.

Saudi Arabia Engines Regional Expansion

According to the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Economic Impact Research released in late April 2026, the Middle East’s travel and tourism industry injected $385.8 billion into the regional gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025, supporting approximately 7.1 million jobs [1][2]. Saudi Arabia emerged as the undisputed engine of this regional expansion [1][5]. The Kingdom accounted for $178 billion out of the region’s $385.8 billion total—amounting to approximately 46.138 percent of the Middle East’s travel and tourism economy [2][4]. Expanding at a rate of 7.4 percent in 2025, Saudi Arabia’s sector grew at nearly double the global average of 4.1 percent [1][5]. Furthermore, international visitor spending within the Kingdom rose by 8.2 percent, signaling strong global interest in its developing tourism hubs [1][2].

Broader Gulf Momentum and Global Comparisons

Beyond Saudi Arabia, neighboring markets demonstrated notable momentum throughout 2025 [1]. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) recorded a travel and tourism GDP of $68.5 billion, bolstered by $56.9 billion in international visitor spending [2][5]. Similarly, both Jordan and Oman achieved healthy sector growth rates of 5.5 percent [3]. International visitors spent $8.5 billion in Jordan and $4.0 billion in Oman, reflecting successful regional efforts to attract tourists to diverse cultural and historical destinations [1][2]. Overall, international visitor spending across the Middle East rose by 5.2 percent in 2025, comfortably exceeding the global increase of 3.2 percent [1][4].

Resilience Amidst 2026 Geopolitical Headwinds

Despite the stellar data from 2025, the regional travel sector currently faces severe immediate challenges [5]. The outbreak of the Iran war on 28 February 2026 has introduced significant geopolitical volatility [5]. WTTC estimates suggest the conflict could result in potential losses of up to $600 million for the Middle Eastern travel industry, though the final economic toll remains highly fluid [alert! ‘Ongoing conflict makes final financial impact projections uncertain’] [5]. However, the WTTC has noted that the sector has historically demonstrated resilience in the face of regional instability [2][4]. Previous crises indicate that, provided governments and industry stakeholders act swiftly to restore traveler confidence, demand can rebound rapidly—sometimes within a span of just two months [5].

Sources

Tourism industry Economic diversification