Saudi travel surplus widens as residents spend less abroad.
Saudi Arabia's travel surplus rose to SAR 8.83bn in the second quarter of 2026, according to balance-of-payments figures from the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), up 62% on a year earlier by our calculation. The rise came mainly from residents spending less abroad.
Spending by residents travelling abroad fell 21.4% to SAR 24.96bn, from SAR 31.77bn in the same quarter of 2025. Spending by visitors to Saudi Arabia also fell, but by less: down 9.2% to SAR 33.79bn. Travel made up about 57% of the Kingdom's services exports in the quarter. It was the seventh quarterly travel surplus in a row; the account was last in deficit in the third quarter of 2024.
GASTAT released the figures on 29 September, and SAMA republished them in its statistical bulletin for August. The year-on-year changes here are our calculations from those figures. The second-quarter numbers are estimates and may be revised. Visitor spending covers all non-residents, including Hajj and Umrah pilgrims and business travellers, so it is wider than leisure tourism, and the data doesn't say why residents spent less abroad. Comparisons with the previous quarter swing with the seasons, since the first quarter included Ramadan; press reports that made that comparison showed visitor spending down 23.6% and residents' spending abroad up 17%. Over the first half of 2026 the surplus was SAR 31.76bn, little changed from SAR 32.15bn a year earlier.
For travel, hospitality and leisure brands, a quarter in which residents cut their spending abroad is a prompt to look harder at demand at home, though one estimated quarter doesn't make a trend. Visitor spending, which includes religious tourism, is still the bigger number, but it is also down on last year, which matters for anyone counting on inbound growth.
Why it matters
Saudi residents cut their spending abroad by a fifth in the second quarter while visitor spending fell less; travel and leisure brands should watch whether domestic demand picks up the slack.
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