Hotel Spending Rises in Saudi Arabia as Overall POS Transactions Dip

Hotel spending in Saudi Arabia climbed by 2.1 percent during the week ending July 19, reaching SR287.44 million ($76.87 million), even as most other consumer sectors registered declines, according to data released by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA).

Despite an overall 7.1 percent weekly drop in point-of-sale (POS) transaction value, total spending remained robust at SR12.19 billion ($3.25 billion), crossing the SR12 billion threshold for the fourth consecutive week. Analysts say the figures indicate continued consumer resilience in key categories despite seasonal and regional fluctuations.

The hotel sector emerged as a rare bright spot in the weekly report, driven in part by increased domestic travel activity and summer tourism. While transaction values rose, the number of hotel-related transactions dipped by 2.1 percent to 822,000, suggesting higher per-transaction spending.

In contrast, the clothing and footwear sector recorded the steepest decline, falling 13 percent to SR719.45 million. The communications sector followed with a 12.5 percent drop to SR102.94 million.

Restaurants and cafes, traditionally the largest spending category, saw a 6.9 percent decline to SR1.79 billion, while spending on food and beverages decreased by 6.6 percent to SR1.73 billion. Despite the dip, these two sectors, along with miscellaneous goods and services (SR1.36 billion), continued to dominate total POS spending, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the week’s activity.

Building materials experienced the smallest decline among sectors, down just 0.2 percent to SR330.02 million. Transportation spending fell 0.6 percent to SR718.02 million. Other notable drops included health (down 8.1 percent to SR740.27 million), furniture (down 3.7 percent to SR265.57 million), and jewelry (down 11.7 percent to SR269.61 million). Spending on recreation and culture also declined by 9.9 percent.

Regionally, Riyadh continued to lead the Kingdom in POS transactions with SR4.20 billion in spending, though that marked a 6 percent decrease from the previous week. Jeddah followed with SR1.76 billion (down 7.2 percent), and Dammam recorded SR582.99 million (down 6.9 percent). Abha saw the smallest regional decline, slipping just 1.1 percent to SR207.48 million.

The weekly data underscores the impact of seasonal consumer behavior and suggests selective spending patterns, with tourism-related categories gaining traction while discretionary sectors saw pullbacks.