Market Research Companies in Jeddah

Key figures for researchers

Population

3.75 million in Jeddah governorate (2022 census)¹

City of Jeddah

3.71 million residents (2022 census), up from 3.43 million in 2010²

Saudis / non-Saudis

1.70 million / 2.01 million residents of the city (2022 census)²

Men / women

2.26 million / 1.45 million residents of the city (2022 census)²

Makkah region

8.02 million residents, 60.8% men (2022 census)³

Airport

53.4 million passengers and 310,000 flights at King Abdulaziz International Airport (2025)⁴

Hajj pilgrims

1,673,230 in 2025, of whom 1,506,576 came from abroad⁵

Umrah performers

15.2 million in Q1 2025, of whom 6.5 million came from abroad⁶

Umrah season 2027

last visas 9 March, last entry 23 March, last departure 7 April 2027⁷

Midday outdoor work ban

12 pm to 3 pm, 15 June to 15 September⁸

Research guide

Research landscape

Jeddah is the second base for market research in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh and the main one for the western region: local agencies, fieldwork and recruitment companies, and offices of regional and international networks. It is also the commercial centre of the Makkah region (8.02 million residents in 2022), and its airport, which handled a record 53.4 million passengers in 2025, is a major gateway for business travel, tourism and pilgrims.

Who you will interview

The city of Jeddah had 3.71 million residents at the 2022 census (3.75 million in the governorate), and non-Saudis were the majority: 2.01 million, against 1.70 million Saudis. The population is also male-majority, with 2.26 million men and 1.45 million women.

A sample without quotas will be dominated by expatriate men. Decide early whether the target is all residents or Saudi nationals only, and set quotas by nationality group, gender, age and district. Arabic is the base for Saudis and Arab expatriates, with English and other languages for some expatriate groups (see the Saudi Arabia guide).

Fieldwork in practice

Jeddah stretches a long way along the Red Sea coast, with older central districts around the historic area of Al-Balad and newer residential districts to the north. Sampling by district and assigning interviewers to nearby areas helps control the spread of interviews and travel times.

Online and telephone (CATI) work well for most targets, including B2B. Face-to-face and mall intercepts help for lower-income expatriate workers and some language groups; screen out visitors and pilgrims when the target is Jeddah residents. In summer, a midday outdoor work ban applies from 12 pm to 3 pm between 15 June and 15 September, so outdoor intercepts move to the morning or evening.

Focus groups and qualitative research

In-person focus groups are usually held in viewing facilities or hotel meeting rooms. As elsewhere in Saudi Arabia, groups are commonly organised separately for men and women, with moderators of the same gender, and often split by nationality group: discuss the right set-up with the agency for your topic and target.

Ask for incentive levels and recruitment lead times by target. Senior and B2B respondents often prefer short online or telephone interviews, and online communities and video interviews are used alongside in-person groups.

Timing

Jeddah lives at the rhythm of the pilgrimage. Umrah brings very large numbers of visitors (15.2 million Umrah performers in Q1 2025, 6.5 million of them from abroad), and for the 1448 AH season the last Umrah visas are issued on 9 March 2027, with last entry on 23 March and last departure on 7 April. The Hajj follows (1,673,230 pilgrims in 2025, 1.51 million from abroad), with Eid al-Adha expected around 16–17 May 2027: the airport, hotels and roads are busier, and hospitality, retail and transport respondents are harder to reach.

Ramadan is expected to start around 8 February 2027, with Eid al-Fitr around 9–10 March (exact dates depend on the moon sighting): routines change, working hours are shorter and fieldwork moves to the evening. Summer is hot and humid and many families travel during the school holidays.

Working with a Jeddah agency

• Share a clear brief: objectives, target, sample size, districts, Saudi/expatriate quotas, gender split, method, languages and deadline.
• Ask who does the fieldwork: own interviewers or subcontractors, which languages they cover and whether female interviewers and moderators are available.
• Ask how Saudi nationals, women and lower-income workers will be recruited, and how nationality quotas and residence are verified.
• For focus groups, ask for the venue, viewing and streaming options, moderator languages and incentive levels.
• Compare several proposals: you can send one request to up to 5 Jeddah companies from this page.

National rules (data protection, holidays, sampling across regions) are covered in our guide to market research in Saudi Arabia.