RIYADH — The number of Saudi women who work in the Kingdom's tourism sector reached 20,732 during the year 2018, according to a survey carried out by the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat). It was revealed in the survey, titled "Survey of Tourism Establishments for 2018," that there are 552,556 people employed in the Saudi tourism sector, of which Saudis made up 22.3 percent. There had been an increase of 3.1 percent in the number of people working in the tourism firms in 2018 compared to the previous year. The findings of the survey showed that the number of tourism establishments in the Kingdom amounted to 72,389 during 2018, and this was an increase of 1.1 percent while comparing to the year 2017. The number of micro-tourism firms that employ less than six workers and the number of small tourist establishments that employ between six and 49 employees account for a total of 71,448 firms, and these two categories constitute 98.7 percent of the total firms. The total number of medium scale firms with 50-249 employees and large firms with more than 250 employees reached 941 during the year 2018, it was found in the survey. There had been an increase of 4.1 percent in the amount of money disbursed in terms of salary, wages, allowances and incentives for the employees in the tourism sector during 2018 as against the previous year. The operational revenue also registered an increase of 4.6 percent during the period. The operational revenue in terms of provision of food and drinks reached SR43.44 million, which made up 34.99 percent of the total revenues, while the revenues for air transport of passengers stood at SR34.14 million, representing 27.5 percent and revenues for the stay of visitors amounted to SR21.74 million, the survey showed.
