Travel industry gears up for rush of vacationers
Published: Jun 25, 2010 22:19 Updated: Jun 25, 2010 22:19
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s travel and tourism sector is all geared to cope with the heavy rush of outgoing holidaymakers with the approaching summer vacation.
According to sources in the industry, there has been tremendous increase this time in the number of Saudi travelers to European countries, who have made flight and hotel reservations. This was mainly because of the depreciation of euro against Saudi riyal and easing of visa procedures by these countries, according to a report carried by Al-Riyadh daily.
The sources also attributed the trend to the biased attitude of some Arab countries, especially Egypt and Lebanon, toward Saudi vacationers. Meanwhile, Malaysia and Dubai remained the most favored destinations for Saudis.
Nasir Al-Tayyar, chairman of Al-Tayyar Travel and Tourism Group, said depreciation of euro in recent weeks has become a blessing in disguise for the Saudi travel and tourism industry. Moreover, most of the diplomatic missions of European countries in the Kingdom have simplified tourist visa procedures.
“As a result, there has been a substantial increase in the number of Saudis who intend to spend this summer in Europe,” he said while noting that this was not the case over the last two years. “A number of factors, such as the global financial crisis, the swine flu scare and a strict visa regime, were blamed for the slowdown in tourism traffic from the Kingdom to EU states,” he said.
Al-Tayyar also noted that a large number of Saudi families have plans to spend their vacations in the United States. “Most of these are parents of young men and women studying in that country,” he said.
Al-Tayyar criticized the unfair price hike for tourism packages by some Arab countries.
“These countries, notably Egypt and Lebanon, have made unreasonable increases in hotel rents and other costs for tourism services. It is unfortunate that these countries target only Saudi citizens for charging higher amounts. When an Arab tourist approaches hotels in these countries, the first question from the reception desk is whether he is a Saudi or not. If the customer is a Saudi, he has to pay charges higher than that of non-Saudis,” he noted.
According to the official, air fares are lower this year compared with last year and there has been increase in frequency of flights to major Western destinations.
For his part, Muhaideb bin Ali Al-Muhaideb, director general of Al-Sarah Travel and Tourism Company, said European countries are the favorite destinations for Saudi holidaymakers this year.
“These countries have some of the best places in the world to live in during summer. There was a sharp decline in the tourism traffic between Saudi Arabia and EU states last year mainly because of swine flu pandemic. This was coupled with the Icelandic volcano eruption that caused disruption of flights across Europe in April this year,” he noted.
According to Al-Muhaideb, all these hurdles have now been removed and the Saudi travel and tourism industry is looking forward to reap rich dividends out of the emerging favorable environment in one of its vital destinations.
“Britain and France top the list of countries where most Saudis want to spend their holiday this year. They are followed by Switzerland and Austria,” he said, adding that there has also been a significant increase in the number of holidaymakers who prefer Turkey this year.
Al-Muhaideb noted that the travel and tourism industry is now coping with a tremendous response from vacationers in the wake of a steady rise in mercury reaching above 45 degree Celsius in most parts of the Kingdom. He noted that there is a section of people who prefer to spend their vacation in East Asian countries, especially Malaysia. There has been a tremendous increase in the frequency of flights to this country in the wake of a surge in bookings.
“Many families prefer Malaysia to Western countries, thanks to the reasonable air fare as well as low rents in addition to the availability of side trips,” he said.
According to Al-Muhaideb, Dubai still is the most favorite Middle Eastern destination for Saudis. “Opening of several world-renowned landmarks, such as Burj Al-Khalifa and Jumeira Palm Island, has been instrumental in accelerating the flow of Saudi tourists to Dubai,” he said.
