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The General Authority for Statistics released its international trade in services survey for the April-to-June period on Tuesday showing imports climbing to SR120.8 billion. That total marked an 8.4 percent increase from SR111.4 billion recorded in the first quarter according to the authority’s figures. Service exports fell 16.5 percent to SR59.5 billion from SR71.3 billion in the preceding quarter with the authority attributing the drop mainly to travel flows.
Transport services posted the highest import value at SR34.1 billion in the GASTAT data with maritime transport accounting for 40.8 percent of the category while air and land transport represented smaller shares. Travel service imports rose 17 percent from the prior quarter to reach SR25 billion and personal travel made up 92 percent of that segment the report detailed. The pattern aligns with ongoing expansion in the kingdom’s visitor economy.
Other business services imports stood at SR18.8 billion according to the authority with professional and management consulting services comprising roughly 50.8 percent of the total. Construction services followed at SR14.5 billion government services totaled SR7.3 billion and insurance and pension services amounted to SR6 billion. Telecommunications computer and information services reached SR4 billion while the remaining imports were distributed across manufacturing personal cultural recreational financial intellectual property and maintenance categories the GASTAT breakdown showed.
Travel retained its position as the largest service export category at SR33.8 billion with personal travel representing 93.9 percent of travel service exports a GASTAT assessment found. The 23.6 percent quarter-on-quarter decline in travel exports drove the overall reduction in service exports during the period the authority reported. The quarterly statistics provide a view of non-oil external transactions consistent with balance of payments standards.
The Ministry of Tourism earlier reported that the kingdom recorded 123 million inbound and domestic tourists in 2025 an increase of 6 percent from the previous year with total tourism spending rising 7 percent to SR304 billion. That growth in visitor activity and related expenditure offers context for the elevated travel service imports observed in subsequent quarters. The General Authority for Statistics compiles the data using internationally recognized methodologies and releases quarterly updates to track sector trends.
Saudi Central Bank publications on economic developments in the same timeframe highlighted parallel movements in merchandise trade although the services survey focuses specifically on categories such as transport and travel. The authority’s report serves as a key reference for monitoring the contribution of services to the kingdom’s overall trade position. Further details on individual service categories are contained in the full GASTAT document.
