Saudi Arabia is gaining popularity as a global tourist destination and business hub, improving its global air and maritime network connectivity. 

The latest International Air Transport Association shows that the kingdom connects 131 global destinations, and its global ranking in air connectivity got a huge leap — from 27th place in 2019 to 13th this year.

These results came about within two years of the Saudi cabinet’s launching of the Civil Aviation Sector Strategy. The strategy aims to connect the country to 250 destinations globally and increase the footfall to 330 million passengers by 2030. The strategy also calls for doubling the kingdom’s air cargo capacity to 4.5 million tons by 2030. 

Meanwhile, the UN maritime connectivity ranking of the kingdom has also risen to the 16th position in Q2 of 2023, reported the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani). 

As per the UN Conference on Trade and Development Liner Shipping Connectivity Index, among 187 countries, Saudi Arabia secured 76.16 points in the second quarter of the year. Ninety-seven ports of the kingdom had connectivity with 348 ports worldwide. 

Minister of Transport and Logistics Services Saleh Al-Jasser applauded the progress and said the improved rankings would benefit the kingdom’s position on the global maritime map.