Saudi Arabia is set to welcome up to 130 million tourists

Saudi Arabia is set to welcome up to 130 million tourists set to spend an estimated 300 billion riyals ($80 billion) this year, as the industry rapidly expands after barely existing just six years ago, the country’s tourism minister said in an interview. The new figures put Saudi well on track to meet its 2030 goals of 150 million tourist trips annually, which includes domestic travelers, Ahmed Al Khateeb, the minister responsible for the industry, told Semafor. The kingdom is “not slowing down” investments into tourism infrastructure despite the government “reprioritizing” some of its spending commitments amid a period of low oil prices, he added. Tourism in Saudi Arabia is “growing faster than any other G20 country, and I think that will continue for the next few years until we get our fair share.” The country had 116 million tourist visits last year, including domestic and international travel, with spending totaling 284 billion riyals. Of the former, international arrivals accounted for 30 million, and have persistently grown at a rate in the double digits, Al Khateeb said - Semafor

Cashless payments eased for visitors to china

WeChat, the omnipresent super app in China, will allow foreigners to pay by Visa and other international bank cards in tens of millions of merchants nationwide starting this month, its operator Tencent announced this week. 

That, along with a similar move by Ant Group’s Alipay – the other major Chinese mobile payments platform – finally allows tourists to partake in the country’s cashless revolution, which has long offered convenience to many locals, but is also a source of frustration for tourists who don’t have Chinese bank accounts and struggle to make payments in places that don’t take cash - South China Morning Post