JEDDAH, 27 July — Over 45,000 Saudis, who used to spend their annual summer holidays in the United States, opted for new destinations in Arab and European countries this year as a result of harassment following the Sept.11 events and tough US visa procedures.
According to a study conducted by Ace Travel, 52,000 Saudi tourists visited the US last year and spent about SR2.25 billion ($600 million).
"Nearly 90 percent of Saudi tourists, who used to visit the United States, have changed their destinations, mainly to Lebanon and Morocco," says Nasir Al-Tayyar, director of Al-Rowaibikh travel agency.
Many Arab countries have stepped up their campaign to attract Saudi tourists, by offering new facilities and incentives, Al-Hayat newspaper reported.
Rasheed Al-Ajali, director of Air Moroc, told the Arabic daily that he expected 35 percent increase in Saudi tourist traffic to Morocco.
This has prompted Air Moroc to operate wide-bodied aircraft on its flights from Jeddah and Riyadh to the North African country.
Despite the strong political relations between Riyadh and Washington, Saudis’ attitude toward the United States has changed considerably following the Sept. 11 attacks and the hate crimes that followed.
Saudi newspapers strongly criticize the US policy of pampering Israel. The Saudi public translated these criticisms into practice by boycotting American products and removing the US from their tourism map.
According to official reports, Saudi-US trade exchange fell by 40 percent and US exports to the Kingdom dropped by 43 percent during the first four months of the year.
Al-Tayyar divided Saudi tourists into five groups: Those visiting the United States and Canada (estimated at 50,000), those visiting Europe (100,000 to 150,000), those visiting Arab countries (500,000), Southeast Asian countries (150,000) and those spending their holidays at tourist resorts within the Kingdom (100,000).
He estimated the number of Saudi tourists visiting foreign destinations at one million annually. They select their destinations for economic, social and religious reasons. The richest among them prefers to visit the United States and pass by West European destinations on their return journey. Many of them visit London, Paris, Marbella, Beirut and Cairo.
Many businessmen and their families visit European countries away from London and Paris while those who prefer cheapest tourism destinations go to the Southeast Asian countries of Malaysia and Indonesia.
Most Saudis who prefer Arab countries — they are the largest in number — do so because of business and family relations. Most of them go to Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Morocco.
Al-Tayyar noticed an increasing number of Saudi visitors going to Malaysia over the past three years. The number of Malaysia visitors has now exceeded 100,000. Malaysia is an Islamic country and suitable for family tours.
