DAMMAM, 31 December 2007 — With the Eastern Province experiencing an extra cold winter this year, outdoor amusement parks have seen a marked decline in visitors during the recent Eid Al-Adha vacation, the Al-Watan newspaper reported recently.
Tourism experts say the low number of visitors has little to do with the various accidents that have occurred at theme parks this year and more to do with the extremely cold weather, with families opting to visit indoor amusement parks, especially the ones in shopping malls.
Walid Radi, general manager of Aziziyah Village, said the percentage of visitors at his theme park during the first three days of Eid Al-Adha increased this year by 30 to 40 percent.
“The number of visitors began to decrease on the fourth day of Eid due to the cold weather. Accidents that have previously occurred at theme parks have nothing to do with the low turnout,” he said, adding, “Tents at the village were all occupied because of families wanting to camp out during the winter.”
Khaled Nasser, chairman of the Committee of Tourism in the Eastern Province, said that families preferred going to indoor entertainment halls because of the cold. “The region needs to build indoor recreational facilities that can be used throughout the year,” he said.
The popularity of indoor amusement places was something attested to by Osman Al-Hassan, director of marketing and sales at Sparkiz, an amusement center in Dhahran. “Many families prefer indoor amusement parks inside shopping centers to save time. These places are attractive because people can also shop and eat out,” he added.
