Arabian Travel Market 2025: The power of human and spiritual connection

UAE – Day two of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2025 continued to spotlight the future of global tourism with a strong focus on human, cultural and spiritual connection.

In a keynote entitled Journeys That Shape Us: The New Power of Connection, Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO of the Saudi Tourism Authority, outlined Saudi Arabia’s tourism strategy. The country, already the largest tourism investor in the world with over £595bn ($800bn, €700bn) committed, is spearheading mega-projects and building infrastructure to rival global hubs (source: PhocusWire). Hamidaddin reminded the audience: ‘No matter what we’ve achieved so far, we’re only just beginning.’ He emphasised that ‘authenticity is part of our DNA’ and that the most profound travel experiences come from human connection: ‘The first connection in travel is human, it’s not just about what you see, but about how deeply it transforms you.’

He stressed the importance of spiritual and religious travel to the region’s tourism market. As the birthplace of Islam, Saudi Arabia offers a spiritual resonance in every corner. Hamidaddin also said that Madinah has been ranked the world’s safest city for solo female travellers after midnight for two consecutive years and Dubai has been named safest city for women travelling solo in 2025 (source: TravelsDubai, The Siasat Daily).

Later, Dave Goodger, managing director EMEA of Tourism Economics (an Oxford Economics company), contextualised this within wider global trends. Using data provided by Tourism Economics, he noted that more than 85% of The Middle East’s tourism growth will come from international visitors. Saudi Arabia attracted a record 18.5m pilgrims in 2024, with 16.9m for Umrah and 1.6m for Hajj (source: Welcome Saudi). He added that leisure travel, which includes religious visits, now accounts for 69% of Saudi Arabia’s international tourism, compared to a global average of 38%.

Goodger also outlined key demographic shifts indicating that travellers to the Middle East are younger, wealthier, more interested in niche adventure and luxury experiences, and more than three times as likely to seek luxury compared to the global average. They are also twice as likely to use chatbots or AI virtual assistants when planning trips.

Explore our newly released report, Sacred Sojourns, to delve more deeply into the booming religious and spiritual tourism market.