"With the busiest time of year ahead for religious travel to Saudi Arabia, tourism in the Kingdom is in the media spotlight. According to the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, more than 1.8 million foreign pilgrims travelled to Hajj in 2011, with all evidence pointing to continued increase over the next few years. In the first quarter of 2012 alone, 2.9 million foreign tourists visited the country, spending nearly US 1.9 billion according to a report released by the Tourism Information and Research Centre. Inbound tourists represent about 77 percent of total tourists, with 23 percent spending only one night in the country."

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