RIYADH, 2 January 2004 — A record 50,000 cars crossed the King Fahd Causeway to Bahrain on Wednesday, defying predictions from the travel industry.
Al-Yaum Arabic daily said the heavy traffic on the bridge was due to the fact that Wednesday night marked the start of the weekend, not because it was New Year’s Eve.
Saudis usually flock in large numbers to Bahrain, and increasingly to Dubai to celebrate the New Year.
Last week the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice warned against any open New Year celebrations in the Kingdom.
Bahraini tourism sources had expected the number of Saudi tourists to be much lower this New Year after disturbances in Manama last year in which 13 people were injured, most of them Saudis.
Many Saudis were exposed to harassment, seven hotels and 13 furnished apartments were attacked, as were 125 Saudi cars.
Hotel staff in Manama told Al-Watan newspaper the number of Saudi bookings declined by 40 percent over last year, when some 30,000 Saudis crossed to Bahrain over the causeway.
