Riyadh Season’s Success: Millions of Visitors now and Growing, Strengthening Saudi Arabia’s Tourism Sector

Published on November 19, 2025

One of Saudi Arabia’s largest annual entertainment events, Riyadh Season, saw an unprecedented turnout of over three million guests within 35 days. This massive turnout has been the most successful in the history of the event, which has been taking place since October 11, 2019. The event is a part of the Saudi Seasons initiative established by the General Entertainment Authority (GEA) in a bid to make Riyadh a regional center for entertainment, cultural, and sporting events.

Riyadh Season has been a major attraction that has positioned the capital city and the entire Saudi Arabia as a major tourist destination. The festival is composed of 13 different themed zones spread over a massive area of 14 million square meters. The zones offer a variety of activities that range from entertainment to dining and cultural activities. This year’s season also featured a major entertainment attraction in the form of a cultural parade that for the first time showcased floats from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, New York City. This event further cemented the growing entertainment partnerships of Saudi Arabia with the United States.

Barcelona and New York, move over! In the last month, the Saudi government indicatrted that approximately 3 million visitors will arrive during the Riyadh Season. No other single Saudi event has attracted so many visitors, and no event Riyadh has Migrated so many visitors and so Riyadh Season. By providing and hosting people entertainment and diverser dining and food, as well as integrating a cultural fusion of properties, including special sport functions and cultural food, the Riyadh Season Entertainment provides and meets a global standard.

Riyadh Season is divided into 13 themed zones that offer a variety of different activities for visitors of all ages. From amusement rides, cultural exhibitions, and fine dining, to interactive exhibitions, the festival is able to accommodate all visitors. The festival keeps these zones indoors and outdoors, so that all visitors can engage with the activities in any weather.

Themed zones such as the ‘Winter Wonderland’ with its ice skating and holiday festivities, and the ‘Riyadh Art’ zone, which features cultural heritage and modern expressive artworks of Saudi Arabia, have become increasingly popular over the years. Other offered activities include immersive tech gaming zones, large scale theatrical performances, and international musical concerts. The dining areas, which offer various international cuisines, further enhance the festival’s popularity as a culinary hotspot.

International Collaborations and Cultural Exchange

Riyadh Season’s trademark is international collaboration and variety in cultural is. For the first time in the history of Riyadh Season, the current edition features collaboration with the United States with the transporting of inflatable floats from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade of New York City to Riyadh. This collaboration demonstrates the growing international interest of the festival and its capacity to internationalize the entertainment offerings of Saudi Arabia.

These collaborations enhance the festival offerings, and more importantly, foster cultural exchange whereby Saudi Arabia’s cultural wealth is internationalized and international art and entertainment are brought to the Kingdom. The American floats at the Macy’s Parade, a highlight of the festival, provided guests with the distinctive American cultural experience of their parade, coupled with the generous hospitality of Saudi Arabia.

Cultural and Economic Impact of Riyadh Season

Riyadh Season, beyond the entertainment, is also very important in showcasing the cultural shift in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Riyadh Season celebrates entertainment, both modern and traditional art forms of Saudi Arabia, and is a depiction of the cultural power of the Kingdom in the region. The multifaceted performances and historical and contemporary art exhibitions, coupled with global art displays, are deliberately designed to give the tourists a real experience of the diverse and rich Saudi culture.

Impacting millions within the hospitality, retail, and transport sectors, the Riyadh season has a profound economic influence. The festival serves as a pivotal point for economic advancement within the sectors, allowing Riyadh to be positioned as an influential point within the global tourism industry. The festival attracts audience members from the entire region and even more locations. As Saudi Arabia continues to diversify the country’s tourism demand, the Riyadh season exemplifies the kingdom’s ability to reshape the country’s tourism industry.

Riyadh Season’s Potential as a Tourism Juggernaut

The Evolution and Expansion of the Riyadh Season festival are set to make it an integral part of the tourism strategy for the kingdom. Growing interests from new international collaborators and festival offerings will make it a year-round destination for global travellers.

The continuing enhancement of the visitor experience within the Riyadh Season festival will be through more technological advances, grander events, and more cultural interactions of the festival. The Saudi Arabia tourism sector will utilize the festival within the framework built to extend the global tourism presence of the nation.