JEDDAH, 16 July 2005 — In the wake of the July 7 London blasts, many Saudi families have canceled flights to London, either delaying travel plans or opting for other destinations instead. For those traveling to the UK, worries of an anti-Muslim backlash are traveling with them.
Arab News visited travel agencies across Jeddah to gauge the effect of the bombings on the vacation trade.
Javid, working at Hatim Travel Agency, said that many families traveling to England through tourism packages canceled flights, with some paying extra fees to change their destination to France or other European countries.
Muhammad Waseem, of Al-Zahid Travel Agency had a different perspective, however. He said people he booked to travel to London before the blast all went on time. He said that he has booked travel to London since the attacks and considers the effect as minimal.
Abdul Lateef, manager of Al-Jammaz Travel Agency, also said few people canceled their flights to London.
He said one flight to London on Thursday went on time full with 288 passengers on board.
Hani Al-Harbi, a traveler to London, said he’s delayed his travel until next month, fearing that something might happen to Muslims and Arabs in London similar to the backlash in New York in 2001.
Sultan Ahmad was planning to travel to London with his sister, but after the blast he canceled his flight because of the subway system disruptions that might force more expensive taxi travel around the city.
Abdullah Al-Kahtani, traveler to London canceled his flight for fear he might face nightmarish airport security checks similar to the ones that many Muslims and Arabs now face in the States.
The general feeling among travel agents was although some travelers have canceled trips or chosen different destinations, the attitude of most travelers is simply to wait and see.
