although most tourism in saudi arabia still largely involves religious pilgrimages, there is growth in the leisure tourism sector. according to the world bank, approximately 14.3 million people visited saudi arabia in 2012, making it the world's 19th-most-visited country. tourism is an important component of the saudi vision 2030 and according to a report conducted by bmi research in 2018, both religious and non-religious tourism have significant potential for expansion.