Saudi Arabia leads post‑pandemic tourism surge, OECD report shows

The OECD "Tourism Trends and Policies 2026" report finds that international travel rose 4 % since 2019, reaching about 1.5 billion trips in 2025. Saudi Arabia recorded the strongest rebound, with tourist arrivals up 67 % from 2019 levels, driven by the Vision 2030 reforms that expanded visa access, airline capacity and Red‑Sea resort development. The kingdom aims to attract 150 million visitors annually by 2030.

Morocco and Egypt also posted robust growth, with tourist numbers increasing 53 % and 47 % respectively. In South America, Brazil, Colombia and Chile saw rises of 46 %, 45 % and 33 % as they rebuilt post‑pandemic travel demand. The report notes that regional conflicts, especially in the Middle East, have raised air‑travel costs and dampened visitor flows to some destinations, while Israel experienced the steepest decline, losing 71 % of its tourists since 2019.