Kids Drive Saudi Outbound Summer Travel: 48% Cross-border Spend on Leisure Travel, 135% Rise in Amusement Park Spend, Visa Data Reveals
- Outbound leisure travel accounted for 48% of cross-border spend during school holidays, with 25% of travelers taking multiple trips
- Family travel nearly doubled this summer to 20% of outbound trips, with ticket spending up 69% and an average of $2,060 for families of 2–5 people
- Children are shaping itineraries: amusement park spend surged 135%, entertainment averaged $135 per card, and toy spending rose 140%
Visa’s latest Travel Pulse: Saudi Arabia – Summer Holidays Edition highlights how family travel is taking center stage in Saudi’ Arabia’s outbound tourism landscape, with children increasingly influencing how and where families spend their holidays.
Outbound leisure travel accounted for 48% of cross-border spend as Saudi residents took advantage of school holidays to combine visits to family abroad with international leisure trips. The study also found that 25% of leisure travelers took multiple trips this summer, averaging 11 days per trip.
Family travel comes to the fore:
Summer 2025 marked a strong increase in family travel, which accounted for 20% of outbound trips, nearly double the RoY average of 13%. Ticketing spend grew 69% compared to RoY, with families of two to five people spending an average of $2,060 on tickets alone.
Top outbound destinations:
Manama remained the leading Gulf destination, with 20% traveler share, followed by Dubai (13% traveler share). Cairo followed with 9% of traveler share, alongside Istanbul (8%) and London (4%). Auckland, at 15,000 km away, was the farthest destination visited by Saudi travelers.
